From the Frontlines: Master Sgt. William Sander

  • Published
  • By Heidi Hunt
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  In a career field that manages and maintains public funds, one's skill-set must include attention to detail and personal responsibility for every penny. Deployed comptroller duty is exactly that and one that is entrusted to Airmen.

Master Sgt. William Sander, 509th Comptroller Squadron superintendent, focused on leading the largest Air Force disbursing operations in U.S. Air Force Central Command during his deployment to the 379th Expeditionary Comptroller Squadron.

The Air Force Global Strike Command Sergeant deployed in February, and spent five months contributing to a vital part of the base operation.

"I oversaw cashier operations which consisted of accommodation exchanges of foreign currency and made deposits to the uniformed services savings deposit program and check cashing services," said Sergeant Sander.

Sergeant Sander also disbursed foreign currency and U.S. dollars to local vendors for supplies and services.

"Over half my time was spent managing the Eagle Cash Program... maintaining the kiosks, uploading daily files and trouble shooting problems," he said. "My mission was to keep the money flowing on base. Any agency that had cash to turn in or withdrawal came through me."

Some of the agencies were Army Air Force Exchange Service, post office, force support, traffic management office, contracting and the operations group.

Aside from his deployed duties, Sergeant Sander volunteered his time as the focal point for the wounded warrior and emergency leave clothes locker campaign.

"I also worked with the book for soldiers and operation gratitude programs and assisted with getting over 100 books handed out to transient personnel, as well as many sundries and other care package items at the passenger terminal," he said.

Overall, Sergeant Sander said his deployment was enriching and the best part of his deployment was working and networking with so many agencies and people of the host nation.

While his deployment was notable, Sergeant Sander said there were things he missed most about being home.

"I missed my family and also the liberties not afforded to me such as showers lasting more than 3-minutes, having to get permission to go anywhere off-base and of course, precious time off," he said.

This was the sergeant's first deployment and said he enjoys seeing the world, but said the deployment did have drawbacks.

"Unfortunately, I did not have enough time in the day to exploit many of the opportunities I would have liked to," he said. "Some days the temperatures were 130-degrees which made movement in-and around base difficult."

Combined with his work ethic and community involvement, it's not uncommon for Sergeant Sanders to take on a superior role according to his supervisor here at Whiteman.

"Sergeant Sander's 'can-do' attitude and depth of experience is a real asset to have in any organization, especially in a deployed location where getting things done can be very time sensitive and more complex," said Lt. Col. Judson Fussell, 509th CPTS commander.

Overall, Sergeant Sander's deployed experience was an enriching one and he is happy to be back home and looks forward to future endeavors.