In this interview, LTC John Seprodi relates his experiences as the commander of the 138th Financial Management Company (FMCO) deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) from June 2010 to May 2011. In the opening portion of the interview, LTC Seprodi describes his time as the 138th Finance Battalion commander. He then relates returning to his unit which had reorganized from a battalion to a Financial Management company. During the pre-mobilization phase, LTC Seprodi talks approvingly of the Finance specific training offered at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. He notes the trainers were knowledgeable, and the training closely replicated the processes and systems used while in theater. After arriving at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, LTC Seprodi conducted the relief in place with the outgoing finance unit. LTC Seprodi's company supported all Department of Defense (DoD) personnel to include civilian and contractor employees in Kuwait, Qatar, and other areas in Southwest Asia excepting Iraq and Afghanistan. LTC Seprodi's unit maintained finance detachments at Camp Buehring, Virginia, Ali Al Salem, as well as Qatar. At several points in his interview, LTC Seprodi discussed the negative impact of the reorganization of the legacy Finance battalion into the Financial Management Companies. LTC Seprodi keyed in on the presence of a staff Sergeant Major (SGM) on the company Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE), noting that the higher headquarters was not receptive to working with the staff SGM versus a Command Sergeant Major. He eventually resorted to using the SGM to run an operations cell managing unit operations. While in theater, LTC Seprodi worked to fulfill the Army Central Command (ARCENT) Comptroller (G8) mandate to "reduce cash on the battlefield." To do so, LTC Seprodi improved cash handling procedures and streamlined management controls, thereby reducing more than $4 million in cash by the end of his deployment. LTC Seprodi notes that his unit accomplished their mission without a single finding or issue uncovered by Financial Management Center auditors. In closing, Seprodi returns to the theme of properly organizing the Finance units to better operate within a theater Finance framework.

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