JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. — For Citizen Airmen in the financial management career field, balancing the books usually means working in an office environment. But from July 7-29, 2026, Air Force Reserve comptrollers traded their standard uniforms for tactical combat gear to participate in Diamond Saber, the Department of Defense’s premier financial management exercise. Established in 2004, Diamond Saber is a U.S. Army Reserve-led event that has grown into the largest military finance exercise of its kind. While it is rooted in preparing Soldiers for deployment readiness by evaluating warfighting functions such as funding the force, disbursing operations, and fiscal stewardship, the exercise relies heavily on joint-force integration. "This is the only exercise – multi-component and joint – that offers financial management units the opportunity to really flex their inventory of skillsets,” said Col. Jason Wynnycky, senior trainer and Diamond Saber exercise director. Capt. Matt Terkay, contingency planning specialist at Air Force Reserve Command Financial Management Directorate, noted training alongside sister services is a cornerstone of the exercise's value. “Integrating with members from the Army and Marine Corps during Diamond Saber 2026 allowed Air Force Financial Management (FM) personnel to experience joint-service operations and adapt their workflows to realistic, austere field conditions,” Terkay said. “It also helped build critical cross-branch relationships and shared operational trust, ensuring our FM warfighters can deliver seamless, unified combat funding in any multi-service theater.” In its earliest iterations, Diamond Saber was a lower-stress event focused heavily on technical skills. Today, it has evolved to reflect the realities of near-peer competition and contested environments. Throughout the three-week exercise at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, FM professionals were pushed to their physical and mental limits. Participants were required to process complex budget and disbursing operations while enduring simulated combat attacks. “By incorporating rigorous tasks like operating in full MOPP gear, clearing the gas chamber, carrying weapons, and wearing heavy body armor, the 2026 Diamond Saber agenda pushed Airmen far beyond standard financial operations,” Terkay explained. “This immersive, high-stress tactical training successfully replicated the physical and mental demands of a contested combat zone, ensuring our warfighters are fully prepared to survive and execute the mission under modern deployment pressures.” The stakes of the exercise are high, as financial management directly sustains the warfighter on the front lines. Without funding, the broader mission grinds to a halt. As such, there is a significant amount of pressure placed on the participants to get it right. “This exercise serves as the ultimate arena where our Financial Management Airmen must perform perfectly alongside joint partners to prepare for the nation’s future battles,” Terkay said. As the Airmen return to their home units, they bring back more than just sharpened technical skills. They return with a profound understanding of what it takes to survive and operate in tomorrow’s fight. “The defining takeaway for Air Force Reserve participants is that tactical combat readiness and financial precision are completely inseparable in a modern, contested joint environment,” Terkay concluded. “By mastering their technical FM duties while operating in full tactical gear and MOPP conditions, our Airmen return to their home stations fully prepared to train and lead their units for tomorrow's high-intensity fights.”

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