Detachment gets KFOR 10 paid

CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, UNITED STATES

05.15.2008

Courtesy Story

Camp Atterbury Indiana

By Sgt. Anthonie R. Seymour
Camp Atterbury Public Affairs

CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. - Many Soldiers have their minds on their money and their money on their minds.

Especially since many of the Soldiers deployed with Kosovo Force 10, Multi-National Task Force (East), stand to make more money than they would in the civilian sector and because every deployed Soldier will receive allowances and all will be tax-free once overseas.

Aside from computing Soldiers' payroll, allowances, and dispersing cash, checks, advance pay and bonds, the finance specialists of the 149th Finance Detachment, Austin, Texas, have the experience, knowledge and desire to get Soldiers more buck for their bank.

To be sure, Army finance specialists are not personal financial advisers and they cannot advise you in buying stocks or bonds, but 2nd Lt. Steven Brantz, detachment commander, said that they would do everything possible to open Soldiers' eyes to entitlements.

"We want to make sure Soldiers are aware of everything, so that they don't miss out on opportunities because they don't have time to research and look for these things," Brantz said. "We plan for a team that will research different bonuses and different opportunities for troops to get education and other benefits."

"We are tightening up our operations to insure that no pay inquiry of any Soldier falls through the cracks," Brantz said.

Part of the "tightening up" process for the Texans is training in accounting principals and procedures at Fort McCoy, Wis., before returning to Task Force Falcon, which is presently training at Camp Atterbury, Ind.

One benefit the 149th is learning more about is the Eagle Cash Card.

"The ECC is a lot like an ATM debit card. It transfers money straight from your checking account, but you're not charged a fee to withdraw money and you aren't charged a foreign exchange fee when you change currency," said Spc. Sophea Siv-Kaholo, 149th Det., financial specialist. "It's safer too. Every time you use it, you must show your ID. If it's lost or stolen, it can't be used by anyone but you and you don't have to carry cash on you."

For many of the 149th, who are seasoned veterans in finance with over half of them having been deployed before, this training is mostly a refresher of what they know.

"These Soldiers had to compete for a spot to come on this deployment, and they had to get recommendations," Brantz said. "Everyone we have is eager to be over there, which makes my job much easier."

Easier, but not easy.

"We will be dealing with multiple currencies and multiple countries, each with different rules and regulations," Brantz said. "We'll also be dealing with multiple states and will have to liaison with different National Guard elements back home."

"The more we learn and the better we get at this, the more proficient we can be," Brantz said. Care for the Soldier is the force behind the 149th's drive to get their Soldiers paid.

"This is our opportunity to make sure our troops are getting paid as much as is morally, legally and ethically possible." Brantz said. "Instead of overcoming just the basic obstacles, we're looking at a new way the Army conducts business financially."

• Date Taken: 05.15.2008
• Date Posted: 05.15.2008 14:12
• Story ID: 19442
• Location: CAMP ATTERBURY, INDIANA, US