FORT CARSON, Colo. — During September, Suicide Prevention Month, personal financial readiness specialist Jeffrey Major, taught the Financial 101 course to nearly 50 Soldiers in Bravo Company, 588th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Major educates service members and their families on financial readiness under the Financial Readiness Program at the Army Community Service (ACS).
“The most rewarding part of what I do is helping Soldiers and Families understand their finances, set goals and achieve whatever it is that they want to achieve,” said Major.
Although the financial education classes are year-round, the Sept. 12 class was timely and intentional said Capt. Blake Neptune, commander, Bravo Company, 588th BEB. After a unit risk inventory survey conducted by the Army Substance Abuse Program identified finances as a high-risk area of concern for Bravo Company, Neptune decided finance was a priority.
“Financial hardship prevention is suicide prevention because if you can prevent finances from reaching a crisis then it may prevent a Soldier suicide,” Neptune said.
Spc. Braxton Davis, Bravo Company, 588th BEB, said he enjoyed learning about investing in the Thrift Savings Plan during Major’s class.
“I like when he went in depth about TSP the most because I didn’t know much about that prior, and he taught us a lot of valuable information about investing,” said Davis.
During the class, Major covered topics like budgeting, reading a Leave and Earnings Statement, credit, debt, insurance and financial milestones.
Davis said budgeting is a common pitfall for Soldiers new to military service.
“I think new Soldiers get a lot of money and assume they’re always going to have that amount of money and make rash decisions,” Davis said.
According to Army Substance Abuse Program Manager William “Bill” Lana, financial stress is one of the factors that the Army looks at as a possible cause of suicide. Lana oversees the Suicide Prevention Program under ASAP.
“The two words that we always listen for are helpless and hopeless,” Lana said. “The individual feels like they can’t do anything, or they have no hope for the future. If somebody gets into significant financial debt, helplessness and hopelessness are feelings they might have.”
Neptune said finances may sometimes be the only issue or a compounding issue in relation to Soldier suicide. Even if one’s finances aren’t life-threatening, financial stress detracts from mission readiness.
“A Soldier really can’t be ready if they’re distracted by thoughts of whether they can pay rent or pay off debt,” Neptune said. “If their finances are secure and something they’re not worried about, they can focus on their job and contribute to the collective lethality and readiness of the unit.”
Neptune encourages Soldiers in his unit and across Fort Carson to schedule a one-on-one consultation with ACS to address their specific financial situation.
“If they make those minor adjustments and get themselves on the right path, it’s going to be something they’ll be grateful they did 20 years from now.”
ACS financial readiness specialists teach classes every month on budgeting, retirement and credit at ACS Building 1526. In addition to the classes, anyone with a Department of War ID card can schedule a free consultation with one of the accredited specialists by walking into ACS or calling 719-526-4783.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 16:23 |
| Story ID: | 549456 |
| Location: | FORT CARSON, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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