INDIANAPOLIS –
William French, U.S. Army Financial Management Command Military Pay Operations financial management analyst, was named the USAFMCOM MPO Employee of the Quarter for the first quarter March 5.
“William is exceptional because he’s reliable and relentless,” said Gennaro Penn, MPO director. “If you ask him a question, he’s going to get you an answer, no matter what, which is why he is our ‘go-to guy.’”
While he may be the ‘go-to,’ French maintains that he’s just a normal guy doing his part to provide the best possible support to warfighters around the globe.
“I’m humbled and honored,” he said when asked about the award. “I do what I do to serve the Soldiers that volunteer to serve our country.”
French most recently served as an FM analyst under the MPO’s Training and Sustainment Division, where his leaders say he stood out during the recent government lapse in appropriations.
“His performance during the government shutdown was nothing short of superb,” said Penn. “As an excepted employee, his deep expertise and unwavering dedication proved instrumental in supporting his division and the entire Army Military Pay Office network through that unprecedented period.”
Throughout the shutdown, French served as the sole military pay policy representative for his division, providing provided guidance that ensured operational continuity.
“His most critical contribution was guaranteeing that all death gratuity payments to beneficiaries were processed without any interruption,” recalled Penn, who added that his subject matter expertise was further leveraged when he assisted the Integrated Personnel and Pay System - Army with the specific requirements for the sensitive payments.
The shutdown also brought with it unique challenges for Soldiers just starting their Army journey. Normally at U.S. Army basic combat training sites, these newly accessioned troops are given a U.S. debit card to pay for their first needs in training such as haircuts and supplies. The U.S. debit card’s use for this purpose was started in August 2025 after the cessation of the EagleCash program.
However, during a lapse in appropriations, the debit cards can’t be funded, so USAFMCOM worked with the U.S. Transformation and Training Command to temporarily issue Army and Air Force Exchange Service gift cards for Soldiers to use.
“Before the shutdown, William was instrumental in standing up the U.S. Debit Card Program at basic combat training sites, where he was accountable for all funds as the program’s disbursing officer and processed $6.8 million in vouchers for basic trainees,” said Penn. “After the shutdown ended, he was pivotal in facilitating a seamless transition from the temporary AAFES gift card system back to standard U.S. debit card operations, re-establishing critical financial support for Soldiers.”
In addition to these responsibilities, French also trains AMPO employees and external customers on the User-Defined List process, which is how units send documents to AMPOs, and he troubleshoots high-visibility accounts.
“I appointed him as USAFMCOM’s military pay ombudsman, so when VIP inquiries come in, they come into him,” explained Penn. “We have to have a subject matter expert at the MPO level that can work with senior leaders to get answers out quickly, and Wiliams is our guy.”
“It’s important to address and resolve these inquiries because if leaders have pay problems, then their formations have pay problems as well,” French explained about his new role. “And, it's important to get them identified and resolved so they can do their job instead of worrying if they are being paid correctly or not.”
French’s nomination will now move to the MPO Employee of the Year Competition.
USAFMCOM delivers precision enterprise-wide financial operations to integrate, synchronize and sustain the battlefield through the Joint Strategic Support Area and directly supports the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller in their role as the principal advisor on all matters related to financial management and comptrollership.
MPO performs the installation-level military support for the Army across the United States, Korea and Japan. The MPO headquarters in Indianapolis manages 36 Army Military Pay Offices, formerly known as Defense Military Pay Offices, and 14 satellite offices at 49 locations.