By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2007 – Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England donned a Santa hat today to remind Defense Department managers to take the red-suited fellow’s lead by checking their lists twice to enforce internal controls within the department.
Internal controls are critical as DoD manages a budget of more than $500 billion, not including war costs, England told attendees at the Manager’s Internal Control Program and Check-It Campaign Conference at Fort McNair here. The way the department enforces its internal controls has a direct impact on the men and women in uniform defending the United States and its friends and allies, England said.
"We are the people behind the lines, and we make it possible for our men and women who serve on the front lines … to do their jobs. They count on us every single day. They count on us doing this job, and they count on us doing it right. And we know that we do it right when we check it every day," he said.
