"In accordance with permanent orders 247-00259. The U.S. Army Financial Management School is herby re-designated as the U.S. Army Finance and Comptroller School effective Oct. 1, 2019," said the master of ceremonies.
The U.S. Army Financial Management School re-designated their name to the U.S. Army Finance and Comptroller School in a ceremony Oct. 18. The ceremony was presided by the school's Commandant and Chief of the Finance Corps Col. Richard J. Hoerner and Command Sgt. Maj. Gennaro A. Penn.
"This branch is changing and the school is changing because the world has changed and it continues to evolve every day," Hoerner said. "So as the world and Army has changed, so must we. This was done to better support commanders in large scale combat as part of multi-domain operations."
The school, established at Fort Washington, Maryland on Sept. 1, 1920, has seen many changes including several relocations, renaming and expansion of training programs as financial management and accounting technology has grown throughout the years. Fort Jackson became the home of the school in 1995, allowing for additional expansions of comptroller training and larger classes to meet the current demands for financial specialist across military installations within the U.S. and overseas.
The auditorium filled with cheers and clapping as Penn unveiled a plaque revealing the school's new name. A video showing finance specialist Soldiers and civilians performing duties in field environments as well as students in the classroom was played to demonstrate the scope of capabilities finance Soldiers and civilians perform on a daily basis.
The ceremony was attended by several guests who traveled from as far as Washington, D.C. to celebrate the renaming ceremony to include Lt. Gen. Thomas A. Horlander, comptroller of the Army.
"Goldsmith and Cox, those were the names of my drill sergeants from 39 years ago. I still remember," Horlander said. "To all you cadre, leaders, and non-commissioned officers, remember that always. That is the impact you have on every Soldiers that you get to be the leader for. They will remember you for the rest of their lives."
Horlander has a history with the school as he was assigned to work there in 1995 while the school was still located in Fort Benjamin Harris, Indiana. He helped move the school to Jackson and jokingly said you could still find some of the old metal desks around the school that he helped move in the back of a truck.
"This is a very important change," Horlander said. "We are changing some of our core competencies and things that we can offer to leaders in the field that were traditionally not something we focused on in our profession."
"The name change is a better representation of what this school provides," Horlander said. "I thought this was necessary, the Training and Doctrine Command and Army Leadership thought this was necessary, to have a name that was more representative of the totality of what this schoolhouse does on a daily basis. So thank you for letting me serve alongside you and preside over this ceremony."
As the ceremony ended, the school leadership along with Horlander, met with cadre, leaders and students to continue the name change celebration.
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