JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
dutyAfter U. S. Air Force 2nd Lieutenants complete Officer Training School and arrive at their first duty station, they may need assistance in managing their personal finances in addition to educating the Airmen that they will supervise on finances.
Designed to help first duty station officers to increase their financial readiness skills, the Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Airmen and Family Readiness Center’s mandatory finance briefing is provided within 90 days of arrival to the installation.
According to Nina Lee, AFRC community readiness specialist, the AFRC’s relocation team initiates contact with first duty station officers by finding their information from the Right Start Newcomer’s Orientation sign-in rosters.
“Officers have to be able to lead by example and this is why the Air Force has made this financial readiness training mandatory,” said Lee. “For us, financial readiness is doing everything that we can to make sure Airmen have every opportunity for financial success.”
Some of the discussion topics during the training include, pay and entitlements, allotments, online banking, digital footprints, identity theft, car buying, savings plans, building credit, investment tools and family financial readiness.
“Even though the finance briefing is mandatory, we don’t tell them what to do,” said Lee. “Our focus is to arm them with a wealth of information to make the best informed decision about their financial endeavors. They get information and resources that they can use and share with their troops.”
According to www.ftc.gov, financial readiness website Military.Consumer.gov was created for mobile devices to help service members and their families make sound financial management decisions during frequent relocations and deployments. The Federal Trade Commission has also teamed up with the Department of Defense, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Military Saves to assist military consumers with managing money while on the move.
The mandatory finance briefing for U. S. Air Force first duty station officers is held monthly in the AFRC classroom. Officers are notified of the mandatory requirement and the training is conducted in small group sessions or by one-on-one appointments.
For more information about the finance briefing or other AFRC programs, call 764-3990.