Every dollar, every minute counts for Air Force Published Sept. 20, 2013 By Lt. Col. Gregory Sevening 60th Contracting Squadron commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., -- No time is better than the present, especially when the present happens to be the end of a fiscal year, to reflect upon the goods and services we are buying and the processes we have in place to successfully complete the mission. The great Yogi Berra once said, "The future ain't what it used to be," and it is apparent that with a decreasing defense budget and sequestration, how we accomplish the mission and the way we execute budgets will not be the same as it used to be. As we adapt with the way we purchase requirements, define the requirements we decide to purchase and develop more efficient processes to complete future missions, it will be imperative to always remember that every dollar counts and every minute counts. During the past two years, I have had the honor to witness and work with organizations across Travis making every dollar count and every minute count. The examples are all around us and contribute greatly to making us America's first choice. For example, the dedicated efforts of our maintenance group to improve a process shaved minutes and sometimes hours off the time it takes to do a home station check on an aircraft that has returned aircraft to the fight faster. Our operations group's award-winning electronic flight bag concept will save millions of dollars in printing costs and allow those dollars to be reinvested to fulfill other mission-critical requirements across the Air Force. Our comptrollers have brilliantly and proactively established processes and tracking mechanisms to ensure timely travel vouchers are submitted, which has resulted in thousands of dollars in rebates to the wing. Our medical group has the ability to treat and heal thousands of active duty airmen, veterans and our family members because of the continuous improvements to how they schedule appointments, staff their clinics, and purchase their goods and services. Our civil engineers and contracting teams have found ways to save thousands upon thousands of dollars through staunch negotiations and first class program management, allowing for countless of additional infrastructure improvements and quality of life enhancements for the entire community. These savings in time and money occurred only because our Airmen believed that every dollar and minute counted. As we close out one fiscal year and plan for another, I challenge every Golden Bear to continue their record of excellence by finding new ways to save yet another dollar in the acquisition process or yet another minute by improving a process. The dollars you save may allow another organization to utilize them to buy a much-needed part and the minute you save may be the difference in an aircraft taking off on time or a lifesaving piece of equipment being delivered on time for a medic to care for one of our own. The future ain't what it used to be and I am humbled and proud to serve with Airmen like you who will make future missions a success.