Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. -- More than $1 million in backlogged enlistment bonuses were paid to 310th Space Wing Reserve Citizen Airmen between April and June thanks, in large part, to two individuals.
Master Sgt. Tammanica Muse, the 310th Space Wing career advisor, and Jennifer Vargas, 310th Finance office, both arrived at the wing close to the same time less than a year ago.
Enlistment bonuses are financial incentives offered to qualified members in career fields considered critical to Air Force mission success.
“It was a serious problem when I got here,” said Muse. “It wasn’t really until Ms. Vargas got here that we really started getting movement on the payments.”
Vargas credited her co-worker who offered to take on day-to-day tasks, which allowed her to focus on bonuses.
“It was impossible for me to work the backlog of bonuses while managing customer service needs,” said Amanda Burnette, who works alongside Vargas in the wing’s finance office. “I was so relieved when she got here because taking care of those entitlements was always looming in the back of my mind. She has done an amazing job.”
While the backlog has been resolved thanks to largely to Muse and Vargas, the problems resulted from transitions in the wing career advisor and finance offices and understanding the processes. To guard against complications like this in the future, the wing commander directed the offices to conduct a Continuous Process Improvement event.
“I think the CPI event helped the offices get a better understanding of each other’s roles and processes,” said Muse. “