An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

375th Contracting Squadron: Team Scott’s rock stars

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Stephanie Henry
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  

For the Government Purchase Card program, the attention to detail is key. When dealing with the shortest email to millions of dollars, each and every period, dollar and signature needs to be accounted for.

In order to accomplish this, Tina Gowdy, 375th Contracting Squadron team lead, has a team of outstanding women who have a direct impact on Team Scott’s mission success.

“GPC is my baby,” said Gowdy, also the primary Agency Organization Program Coordinator for the GPC. “I'm very passionate about it because it has a direct impact on the mission. We have 300 managing accounts and monitor the spending of several million dollars a year. There are approximately 900 card holders and approving officials and it’s our job to make sure their I's are dotted and T's are crossed. I always want to help. I never tell anyone, ‘I don't know.’ The answer is, ‘Let me get that answer for you.’”

The GPC team provides support for every member of Team Scott, as well as Geographically Separated Units such as Bahrain, Virginia and Germany.

The team consists of Gowdy and two others: Deetra Miller and Joyce Simmons, 375th CONS alternate AOPC. Gowdy goes on to explain how there's a lot to learn about the program and they are both phenomenal at their job. Together, they laugh, joke and make it a fun atmosphere.

“They are rock stars,” Gowdy said. “Ms. Miller has an incredible attention to detail. She is my spreadsheet queen. Joyce has a lot of contracting experience that she brings to us. As a previous buyer, we learn things from Joyce from that standpoint. As a team, they compliment each other.”

When the credit card programs started, the card holders could spend a set amount, but now that has increased over the years. Gowdy stated how that is a lot of responsibility to put on someone because of the amount of money they are entrusted with.

“It’s my job to keep the cardholders out of trouble,” Gowdy said. “They come to me for business advice when making their purchases. We make sure that everything they purchase is legal, mission essential and that they're using the correct sources. I always try to get them to ‘yes’ with their questions.”

Being a card holder is an additional duty, and the GPC team works diligently to make sure that even the smallest dollar purchase is made correctly. 

“We break it down,” Gowdy said. “Each person is responsible for a certain aspect in the GPC. Then I oversee to make sure they have everything they need. If there are any questions, I make myself readily available.”

Miller spoke on how, with every email coming in, the team takes every single one of them, reviews them and tries to give the best information possible in 48 hours, but strives for 24. They are hands-on with every single email, request and account.

“We are as good as our weakest link,” Miller said. “We're always trying to help each other improve and do better. It gives me satisfaction at the end of the day to realize what we go through. When you stop and look at how many cardholders or approving officials there are, it's a lot, but it's fun.”