WSU Helps Base's Financial Aid Training Take Flight

Aerospace isn’t all about having your head up in the clouds. Sometimes you need to come down to earth and talk finance.

Knowing this, WSU’s Military Outreach team recently worked with the Goddard School of Business & Economics to create an Aerospace Financial Management certificate for Hill Air Force Base (HAFB).

Base employees were finding that, while it was one thing to know about finance, it was quite another to understand the intricacies of government financial laws and procedures. The realm of finances in the aerospace industry is just specialized enough that a broad financial education just won’t do, and the base was spending an inordinate amount of time training financial professionals above and beyond their base knowledge.

Hill knew who could help: Weber State University’s Military Outreach Team. Jeff Stuart and Henry Kiester set to work gathering information and forming partnerships. They put HAFB officials in touch with the Goddard School’s accounting program, who tailored their curriculum to meet the air force base’s needs. All along the way, Military Outreach was there to facilitate the program build. The result? A specially tailored program that enabled Hill Air Force Base employees to get the necessary know-how on the tricky world of government financials on a greatly reduced timeline.

That kind of magic doesn’t just happen, though. Strong relationships precede it.

“So much of what we do is based on relationships,” said Jeff Stuart, a retired colonel who heads up WSU’s military outreach team. “Our relationship with Hill Air Force Base established the ability to put things together. If we don’t have answers, we can go find answers.”

To start your relationship with DOCE Military Outreach, email Jeff Stuart (j4kstuart@weber.edu). Not in aerospace or defense, but still want to explore partnerships like this one? Contact Beth Rhoades (bethrhoades@weber.edu).