You know the John Wayne movie The Fighting Seabees. No one has made a financial management movie yet, but if they did it might be called The Fighting Finance and Combat Comptrollers. Finance is not in the rear, it is in the fight, paying the Army’s way every day.
In every contested theater and across every operational phase, finance and comptroller Soldiers provide the velocity behind sustainment. The new Financial Management and Comptroller Enlisted Guide reflects this reality. Released in 2024, this resource is more than a reference book; it is a tool for transformation. It helps commanders and senior enlisted leaders harness the full range of financial management capabilities to support large-scale combat operations.
Finance Soldiers do not just balance books; they enable movement, deliver effects, shape decisions, and, when needed, defend the Army’s resources, both figuratively and literally. In an era of continuous transformation, the Enlisted Guide helps align finance readiness with the Army’s imperative to transform in contact.
Built for the Fight
The Enlisted Guide outlines critical roles, responsibilities, and requirements for 36B Army Financial Management Technicians across echelons and formations. Developed collaboratively by the Finance Senior Enlisted Integration Committee, the U.S. Army Financial Management Command, and the Finance and Comptroller School, the guide sets the standard for what finance Soldiers must know, do, and demonstrate at every level.
It supports operational commanders and sustainers by identifying the finance tasks that enable everything from disbursing cash in austere environments to synchronizing internal controls with theater business rules. The guide provides detailed expectations for training, certification, systems access, and leader development milestones, allowing formations to assess talent, close capability gaps, and employ finance Soldiers where they are most needed.
Finance is no longer confined to office spaces and spreadsheets; it is dispersed across the battlefield. The Enlisted Guide ensures that finance professionals are trained, equipped, and positioned to support the operational force at the decisive point and time.
Aligned with Army Transformation
The release of the Enlisted Guide coincides with a significant shift in how the Army approaches change. Transformation in Contact, as described by Army senior leaders, is about adapting while actively engaged. The Army cannot wait for ideal conditions to begin modernization — it must change now, in stride, through its operational units.
Finance and comptroller Soldiers and units are part of operational formations and are therefore integrated into formation-based transformation. The Enlisted Guide empowers leaders to do the following:
- Integrate financial operations into mission planning.
- Standardize responsibilities for finance support in every phase of operations.
- Enhance readiness and auditability through tactical-level fiscal stewardship.
- Support mission command by enabling decentralized resourcing decisions.
This is the Army’s path forward: a continuous cycle of transformation across near-, mid-, and long-range planning horizons. The Enlisted Guide supports immediate operational innovation, informs future force structure and talent alignment decisions, and helps build enduring competencies to meet the demands of emerging operational environments.
Sustainment Advantage Through Finance Integration
In the sustainment warfighting function, finance and comptroller Soldiers play a unique role. They translate operational intent into executable resources. During operations, finance enables sustainers to meet battlefield demand, whether contracting urgent supplies, funding bulk fuel shipments, or tracking financial obligations.
At the tactical level, well-trained 36Bs help commanders validate spend plans, adjust budgets, and track obligations in real time. At the operational level, they bridge gaps between resource managers and sustainers. And at the strategic level, they support theater fiscal operations that ensure compliance and transparency.
By clearly articulating these roles and responsibilities, the guide provides a common framework for collaboration. Sustainment leaders can use it to do the following:
- Synchronize financial and logistical planning with operational planning cycles.
- Align duty positions with required system credentials and training.
- Forecast support needs during deployment and redeployment phases.
Operational units that use the guide as part of pre-deployment planning are better postured to deploy finance capability tailored to mission design. In a resource-constrained environment, this alignment becomes mission critical.
Driving Readiness Through Standardization
Standardization is a combat multiplier. The Enlisted Guide establishes a shared vocabulary across formations, reducing ambiguity about what finance and comptroller Soldiers must do in the field. It defines developmental paths for specialists and NCOs, providing structure for talent management.
This helps the Army match personnel to mission more effectively. For example, if a brigade requires internal controls support during a rotation, leaders can use the guide to identify Soldiers with the right training and certification. If a division needs expeditionary disbursing capability, the guide outlines how to build and assess that team.
Moreover, standardization enhances interoperability. As the Army operates in joint, interagency, and coalition environments, finance roles must be clearly defined and interoperable. The guide facilitates that by linking duty positions to system access and competency standards. It helps ensure that the right people have the right tools at the right time, which is a necessity in complex operations.
Looking Ahead: A Living Document for a Lethal Force
Transformation is not a phase. It is a mindset. As the Army accelerates toward the future, the Enlisted Guide will evolve alongside new doctrine, systems, and requirements. It is designed to remain current by being adaptable and serving as a touchpoint for leaders navigating change.
From evolving force structure decisions to future-oriented concept planning, the guide provides continuity. It supports units conducting assessments of their finance footprint, helps leaders visualize force-design implications, and enables readiness reporting by linking finance and comptroller tasks to operational outcomes.
Importantly, the guide reinforces the Army’s talent management objectives. It gives enlisted Soldiers visibility on their career paths, from skill development to strategic-level impact. Finance Soldiers who begin their careers balancing travel claims may one day oversee budget execution for multinational operations. The guide shows that path.
Employ Finance as a Combat Enabler
Finance may not be the most visible enabler on the battlefield, but it is among the most essential. The Enlisted Guide puts actionable tools in the hands of commanders, planners, and sustainers. It ensures that 36Bs are employed to their fullest potential, enabling commanders to fight, sustain, and adapt at the speed of relevance.
As we continue to transform in contact — learning, adapting, and delivering effects in stride — let us ensure we leverage all the force multipliers in our formations. The Enlisted Guide is a call to action. Use it. Train to it. Plan with it. And build readiness through it.
Because when the “Fighting Finance and Combat Comptrollers” are in the fight, the Army wins.
To view or download the guide, visit the U.S. Army Financial Management Command SharePoint site or contact the Finance and Comptroller School.
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LTG Paul A. Chamberlain serves as the Military Deputy for Budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller). He previously served as Director of Army Budget, Headquarters, Department of the Army; as the Director of Operations and Support in the Army Budget Office; and as the commanding general of the U.S. Army Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. His military education includes the Signal Officer Basic Course, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, Special Forces Officer Qualification Course and Language School, Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces - National Defense University (ICAF-NDU). He was commissioned into the Army in 1988 from Clemson University and was assigned as a signal platoon leader. He has a Master of Business Administration degree from Syracuse University and a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from ICAF-NDU.
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This article was published in the summer 2025 issue of Army Sustainment.
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