JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas – It’s Mission Monday. Meet LaShunda Carter, a financial management specialist and budget liaison with the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center’s Detachment 5 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
As a budget liaison, Carter offers decision support and oversees the execution of an extensive budget portfolio, including over $172 million for Air Force District of Washington joint bases and a portion of AFIMSC's more than $8 billion global operations and maintenance appropriation annually. She also assists installations with addressing funding requirements, shortfalls and emergent requirements for Headquarters AFIMSC funding consideration.
We asked this “Military Brat” who was born in Florida but grew up in California, to tell us more about herself and the work she does for the Department of the Air Force.
What do you love about your job?
Working with diverse individuals from various areas such as Installations, major commands and functional areas like security forces, civil engineering, logistics and Airman & family services brings something new and unique every day.
When it comes to your job, what keeps you motivated?
Working on missions from both strategic and tactical perspectives is crucial for ensuring success and alignment with organizational goals. At the strategic level, it involves understanding overarching objectives, long-term plans and broader implications. On the tactical level, the focus shifts to executing specific tasks and actions to achieve immediate objectives. This could involve detailed planning, resource allocation, coordination with various stakeholders and overcoming operational challenges. Seeing the smiles of stakeholders when they receive needed funds shows successful collaboration for mission success.
Why are you and your team important to the Air Force and Space Force enterprise and your customers?
AFIMSC detachments are instrumental in promoting unity of effort, enhancing situational awareness and driving continuous improvement within the Air Force installation and mission support community. Our efforts contribute to mission success by ensuring installations have the necessary support they need to fulfill their operational requirements efficiently and effectively.
Describe a project or event you and your team worked on recently that gave you a great sense of accomplishment:
I was recently selected to attend the AFIMSC Leadership Empowerment and Development Program. LEAD is a tactical leadership development program designed to educate, train and inspire a network of AFIMSC potential and current leaders. I was on Team Charlie and our capstone project was on delegation. Team Charlies pinpointed some essential benefits of delegation and found powerful tools for leaders to leverage the strengths and abilities of their team members, ultimately leading to increased productivity and organizational success. Distributing tasks appropriately optimizes efficiency, frees up time for higher-level activities and empowers team members to develop skills and take on new responsibilities.
How does what you do support AFIMSC’s strategic priorities?
AFIMSC detachments play a crucial role in facilitating communication and coordination between major commands and Headquarters AFIMSC. By being collocated with MAJCOMs, the detachments effectively serve as liaisons, ensuring that stakeholders at both levels are kept informed about budgeting and execution issues related to installation and mission support programs. This communication is vital as it helps address potential impacts on mission operations, thereby enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness within the Air Force.
Is there anything else you’d like to add which might help people understand the importance of what you do for the Department of the Air Force?
My role in providing financial information, assistance and guidance can be instrumental in various aspects of DAF operations, whether it's helping with budget execution, providing quick answers to inquiries or offering insights into complex issues. My fiscal capabilities extend to numerous areas, including but not limited to administration, logistics, planning and problem-solving. Overall, leveraging my abilities enhances productivity, streamline processes and enables better-informed decisions, all of which are crucial for the DAF’s mission success.