Comptrollers change commanders Published July 19, 2007 By Frank McIntyre 71st Flying Training Wing public affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The 71st Comptroller Squadron changed to new leadership in a ceremony July 13 at the Vance Club. Maj. Monroe Neal, Jr., accepted command of the squadron from Maj. Dennis Hunt. Major Neal comes to Vance Air Force Base from his position as the finance flight chief for the 668th Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. "I thank Col. (Richard) Klumpp, (71st Flying Training Wing commander), for entrusting me with Vance's 'purse,' and, more importantly, with the men and women of the 71st Comptroller Squadron," he said. "My family and I are blessed to be a part of such a great organization. We're looking forward to upholding and expanding on the squadron's legacy of excellence. "These are dynamic times for the comptroller community. We're transforming the way we do business, and I'm excited about our future. I'm eager to meet and work with base leadership to ensure Vance is the "Wing of Choice" within the Air Education and Training Command." Major Neal was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC in August 1996 after graduating with a Bachelors of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi. In 2004, he received his Master's degree in cost analysis from the Air Force Institute of Technology. His first assignment was as a financial services/budget officer at Barksdale AFB, La. He was assigned to Hanscom AFB, Ma., in 1999 as an Airborne Warning And Control System financial specialist and later as chief of programming and integration. Following completion of his AFIT degree at Wright Patterson, he was a cost/budget analyst with the 668th AESS before becoming finance flight chief. From April to October 2006, he was deployed to Iraq. Major Neal's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star and the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster.