Large, multinational organizations often deal with complex issues when it comes to the intersection of fiscal requirements and government regulations. U.S. Army Captain Bong Chi is among the group of financial professionals tasked with managing the Army’s budget and fiscal policies. When he graduates from the Whitman School of Management’s Defense Comptrollership Program (DCP) this summer, he will join the growing list of financial experts who have moved on to juggle the fiscal requirements for the Department of Defense (DoD), the largest federal agency in the country.

After growing up in Seoul, South Korea, Chi came to the United States for high school and soon found an opportunity to pursue a career in finance and accounting. After graduating high school in 2009, he enlisted in the military through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) Program, a recruitment program for immigrants and non-immigrants interested in joining the U.S. military.

Upon becoming a basic finance soldier, he learned about Whitman’s DoD program and its prestigious status within the Army’s Finance Corps. Bong says he was interested in the program and made it a goal to attend later in his career when he would become eligible.

The DCP is Whitman’s flagship program for the Department of Defense. Syracuse University first developed the Army Comptrollership Program in 1952 with the DoD, and later developed DCP to be the graduate-level training needed to meet the needs of the service. The program gives future comptrollers and government resource managers the tools and management skills needed to effectively navigate the increasingly complex fiscal environment of the U.S. government.

“The program is designed for senior captains or junior majors on the officer side, or staff sergeants and above on the enlisted side. Primarily it’s for those who don’t have a master’s or graduate degree, it’s not disqualifying to have one, but it won’t move you to the top of the line,” Chi says. The 14-month education program is relatively fast-paced and is known to be a challenging program for those who are accepted. With applicants coming from all over the DoD, the screening and selection process is considered highly competitive.

Today, the DCP has evolved to offer other opportunities for mid-career servicemembers accepted into the program. The military-connected students also take classes with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs to earn a master’s degree in public administration. It’s an important aspect of the increasingly bureaucratic nature of the government and speaks to the growing challenges with public-private partnerships and agreements.

Read the full article via the SU News website.