The Tennessee National Guard's 1128th Finance Management Support Detachment is responsible for processing Soldiers' pay, managing debts, overseeing U.S. and coalition accounts, handling contracts, dispersing funds, and safeguarding the Army’s financial assets. During Post-Mobilization validation at Fort Cavazos, Texas, the unit runs mock financial scenarios ahead of a year-long deployment as part of the NATO-led Kosovo Forces. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Mickey Miller 153rd Public Affairs Detachment) The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. Image: DoD
The armed forces should keep better track of the efficacy of financial planning courses provided to service members, according to the government’s top watchdog agency.
Service members and their families all receive financial education. For service members, such training is required.
“DoD [Defense Department] officials do not know the extent to which service members complete some of the required financial readiness common military training oints because the military services face challenges accurately tracking training completion,” The Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated in a recent report.
This happens, GAO reported, because such training is conducted at irregular intervals that hinge upon individual members’ circumstances and that administrative systems are hindered with limitations.
“The irregular frequency of some of these training points can make them difficult to track, according to DoD officials,” GAO reported.
The sessions take place at several stages of a military career, beginning at initial entry and concluding when the time comes to take the uniform off for the last time.
The training can cover a wide range of subjects, from explaining the ins and outs of the new Blended Retirement System (BRS) to ways of developing skills and strategies that would help service members and families meet financial goals.
“DoD and the military services have taken steps to better track service members’ completion of financial readiness training, including standardizing data collection across the military services. However, these efforts have not fully addressed the underlying challenges in accurately tracking training completion,” GAO reported.
The discrepancies could be remedied, GAO stated, by taking more steps “to identify and address causes of non-completion,” increase tracking of member completion, and set up timelines to determine standardized performance measures.
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