Story by Sgt. Elizabeth Buck
California Military Department Public Affairs

Photos by Master Sgt. Amanda H. Johnson
California Army National Guard Public Affairs

July 15, 2025

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. --  In a historic first for California, the California National Guard's Comptroller Office, United States Property and Fiscal Office (USPFO), won the Society of Defense Financial Management (SDFM) Team Award for their performance during fiscal year 2024. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Matthew P. Beevers, the adjutant general of the Cal Guard, presented the Department of Defense-level award to the team of twenty during a ceremony at the California Military Department's headquarters, Rancho Cordova, Calif., July 15, 2025.

The SDFM is a non-profit organization for civilian and military financial management professionals who support the Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Coast Guard. Their national awards program recognizes and promotes excellence and expertise within the defense financial management profession.

Before the awards presentation, U.S. Air Force Col. Jonathan Cartwright, the California National Guard USPFO director and emcee of the event, recalled the comptroller team’s recognition in 2021 as budget team of the year by the Secretary of Defense at the time. 

“There’s definitely a trend of sustained excellence by this organization,” said Cartwright to an auditorium full of friends, family and Cal Guard service members.

Cartwright highlighted the Comptroller Office’s many accomplishments of fiscal year 2024, including successfully using nearly all of a $561 million budget to support 13,000 Soldiers and civilian employees. For more than half of the year, the team also kept late payments on government travel cards lower than the DoD’s goal despite managing over 12,000 travel cards, generating three times the National Guard’s annual transaction volume.

“You can’t ask for better than perfection, but that’s what this team delivers,” said Cartwright.

15 members of the 20-person team were present to accept their awards. One team member, Nicholas Irwin, received an additional award from SDFM for auditor of the year–another historic first for California.

While USPFO employs many state Title 5 civilians, California National Guardsmen work at the office as well and are integral to the team. The comptroller team itself is majority civilian, although three members of the team are also Guardsmen. Two awardees are currently deployed, so their spouses accepted on their behalf.

Prior to handing out the awards, Beevers emphasized the comptroller team’s role in Soldier care. 

“Everything that we do, we do to ensure their lives are better for having served,” said Beevers.

The team went on stage in three groups to accept their awards from Beevers. He shook each of their hands and offered them private words of gratitude. 

To Beevers, the award represents not only a commitment to Soldier care, but the fiduciary responsibility of USPFO to spend U.S. taxpayers' money effectively, efficiently and appropriately.

“I applaud each and every one of you for the extraordinary work that you do on behalf of the young men and women that signed up to serve our organization because it’s always just about them,” he said.