C3 continues with new program manager

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Stephan Coleman
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affair
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  With Staff Sgt. Amber Bell on permanent change of station orders, and the end of the fiscal year nearing, the Airmen's Cost Conscious Culture working group finds new leadership in Airman 1st Class Jonathan Lyew-Ayee.

Bell, 81st Comptroller Squadron, passes the title of C3 program manager to Lyew-Ayee, 81st CPTS, after a busy summer. The effort to save the Air Force money is not finished, however, and the program continues with the goal of base involvement and awareness.

"We wrapped up the public service announcement and King of the Hill and," said Bell. "So, it's somewhat of a break period. One of the things we'll start to look at is the ideas from other bases and see if they can apply here."

Bell added, "The fiscal environment isn't going away, so neither is C3. In fact, it just needs to get better."

Lyew-Ayee, an active member in the C3 working group that spreads the word around base, will persist where Bell has left off.

"I plan on taking the flow of things and carrying them along. Keep an eye out for inefficiencies, and keep people aware of that C3 is constant."

He was chosen for the new position both for his work in the finance office, and through selection from leadership.

"They gave me the choice if I wanted to take charge or not, and after conferring with Sgt. Bell and soaking up the information on how the group is run I've been edging into it."

"Airman Lyew-Ayee is one of our best and sharpest troops in finance," said Maj. Jayson Cabell, 81st CPTS commander. "Sgt. Bell obviously leaves huge shoes to fill as the job she did was phenomenal, but when we looked at the potential to lead a wing program as an E-3, without a doubt, Lyew-Ayee was the right guy for the job."

A wing program being taken by a junior Airman is a large task. Lyew-Ayee wants his transition as the new face of C3 to be comfortable to the base. Originally from Jamaica and fairly soft-spoken, he breaks the ice by recognizing the difficulty his name might present.

"It's like saying 'meow'--but, with an 'L' in front instead of the 'M' and an 'IE' at the end," said Lyew-Ayee. "Leow-IE."

A finance expert at Keesler for just over a year and a half now, Lyew-Ayee will take the new financial burden along with his tasks as a customer service facilitator.

The job as C3 project manager is focused on taking in emails and phone submissions, vetting them for financial viability, documenting them, and sending them up to the representatives at Air Education and Training Command.

"The C3 program will live on in some form or another, whether it's called C3 or called something else," said Cabell. "With the funding outlooks for the future and the uncertainty, there will always be reason to try and find smarter and less expensive ways to do things."

"Anything we can do to alleviate the burden on the tax payers is something we absolutely need to look at."