Funding Team Dover: MILPERS, O&M and TWCF

  • Published
  • By Maj. Ryan Carville
  • 436th Comptroller Squadron commander
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Dover Air Force Base works much like a small city. We pave roads, build buildings, and run our business--the business of providing essential and time-critical materials to the warfighter downrange. The base budget is the fuel that enables Team Dover to deliver excellence every day and it is entrusted to the men and women of the 436th Comptroller Squadron. Dover comptrollers are the gatekeepers navigating the complex world of government finance to ensure our people and our mission are funded for success.

Let's say, for example, you were to go online and order a product. You will inevitably finish your transaction by evaluating the shipping options-- five-seven days, two-day, overnight, etc. Most of us will choose the standard shipping option; however, if you need it fast then all you have to do is choose the "overnight" option. Now imagine you're the warfighter on the other side of the globe and you need to order 14 Humvees, 70 troops and their accompanying equipment. If you need all of this delivered sometime next month, then the standard shipping option is by boat. Approximately 90 percent of warfighter supplies are shipped over water. However, if you need this stuff tomorrow, then you call on Team Dover. We can fit all of this and more on one C-5M Super Galaxy. We provide next-day shipping on just about anything: vehicles, boats, helicopters, NASA satellites, personnel, humanitarian supplies and much more. In my time as a C-5 pilot I've seen Team Dover carry U.S. Navy mine-seeking dolphins, a Navy Seal submarine, and even other aircraft.

As you can imagine, this expedited shipping business is not cheap. In fiscal year 2014, the Dover AFB budget was over $600 million. We spent $190 million on aircraft fuel alone. Additionally, this money does not simply fund the base and the mission; it has a larger economic impact stimulating the local economy. The Dover AFB economic impact in FY14 was $696.7 million.

To understand the Dover AFB budget, you must understand our three primary types of money--Military Personnel, known as MILPERS, Operations and Maintenance, what we call O&M, and Transportation Working Capital Fund, what is known as TWCF. O&M and MILPERS are both appropriations funded by Congress and can be found at every Air Force base. Together they represent 67 percent of the total U.S. Air Force budget. TWCF, on the other hand, is unique in that it funds itself.  Let's dig deeper.

MILPERS

MILPERS is fairly straightforward. This is what the Air Force uses to pay our roughly 482,000 military members worldwide. The MILPERS appropriation funds base pay, allowances and entitlements, as well as PCS costs. Military pay represents a large portion of the overall Air Force budget at 27 percent. In FY15, the Air Force is on track to spend $29.2 billion on our men and women in uniform. Dover AFB will utilize $260 million.  

O&M

O&M is the largest portion of the Air Force budget covering 40 percent. It is the most far-reaching appropriation and is used to run our bases and most of our missions. At Dover AFB, the Mission Support Group and the Medical Group are funded with O&M. Each organization is given an O&M budget that is used primarily for operations, supplies, equipment and training. 

In FY14, Dover AFB utilized $81 million of the total $42.2 billion Air Force O&M budget. This proportion is low compared to most Air Force bases because Dover's primary mission receives funding from another source--TWCF.

TWCF

TWCF is a self-sustaining fund used to execute our global air mobility mission. At Dover AFB, the Operations Group and Maintenance Group are funded with TWCF.
 
TWCF operates similarly to a commercial shipping operation like UPS or FedEx. First, Team Dover is tasked by Transportation Command to provide global air mobility services to our customers. Our customers can be anyone, but mostly include Department of Defense services and other government agencies.  When the mission is complete, we charge our customers an hourly rate for our airlift service. Finally, Team Dover uses this money to fund our Operations Group and Maintentance Group. The biggest difference between the Dover AFB TWCF mission and other commercial operations is that we are a non-profit. The goal of TWCF is to break even year after year. 

At Dover AFB, TWCF funding pays for everything including fuel, parts, hangars, loading operations, organizational budgets for the flying squadrons and MXG units, and essential training for our aircrew and maintenance personnel. In FY14, Dover AFB spent $297 million executing our global air mobility mission and enabling the DoD to project our forces around the globe.

Nobody delivers excellence like Team Dover. We provide expedited airlift around the globe and at a moment's notice. The 436th Comptroller Squadron enables Team Dover by understanding and navigating our complex MILPERS, O&M, and TWCF budgets and ensures our funding is on target to support our people and our mission.

Did you know you can often find answers to your Pay & Travel questions online? Please check out (and bookmark!)  virtual Finance https://www.my.af.mil/gcss-af/USAF/site/Life_and_Fitness/Money and the Financial Services Knowledge Base (FSKB) https://fmkb-crm.csd.disa.mil/app/login/redirect/home.