By Sgt. 1st Class N. Maxfield
Combined Joint Task Force - 82
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - The Joint Logistics Command is working closely with U.S. Army Finance Command to bring EagleCash kiosks to remote forward operating bases throughout Regional Command-East.
The 28th Financial Management Company, the 502nd Human Resources Company and the 101st Financial Management Support Operations Office crafted an agreement that will allow postal clerks at outlying FOBs such as Orgun-E, Ghazni and Herat to maintain the machines and manage the transactions at EagleCash kiosks.
According to Army Maj. Noah Cloud, the financial management support operations officer with the Joint Logistics Command, one of the most immediate benefits of having EagleCash cards at outlying FOBs is that service members will be able to use EagleCash for mailing packages.
"There are not enough finance Soldiers in Afghanistan to have finance offices at each and every FOB," Cloud explained. "Finance Soldiers are limited to visiting some of the most remote FOBs once a month. Giving Soldiers access to EagleCash 24/7 allows them to access their funds without finance support."
Financial security, as well as convenience, is one of the reasons EagleCash was created by the Department of Defense. The EagleCash program allows cardholders to use an EagleCash kiosk to load funds from their personal checking accounts onto their EagleCash card and use it like a debit card.
Unlike using a debit card linked to a checking account, personal account information and other potentially sensitive information is never revealed to the vendor. Additionally, there are no ATM fees associated with the use of the kiosks.
According to Juan A. De Jesus, E-Commerce director and EagleCash program manager with the U.S. Army Finance Command, the Army partnered with the U.S. Treasury to create the EagleCash program for several important reasons. The Army wanted to increase financial flexibility for service members, reduce transportation costs for managing U.S. currency overseas and reduce counterfeiting of U.S. currency. In addition, it's mission is to reduce the amount of U.S. currency outside of U.S. Treasury control, improve and simplify internal controls at Army finance offices, and to speed up how quickly the U.S. Postal System and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service receive funds from financial transactions.
EagleCash cards benefit Soldiers whether or not they have a large number of point of sale machines on their home FOBs, Cloud said.
"As some of these FOBs grow and gain stores and shops, then point of sale devices can be installed and EagleCash can be used at these locations," Cloud explained. "Soldiers often rotate to larger FOBs where EagleCash is used.
"If a Soldier is rotating into a larger FOB for only a few hours, why spend time in line to cash a check when you can go straight to the Post Exchange, upload funds onto an EagleCash card and then use it to purchase items that are needed," said Cloud. "It just makes too much sense for them not to get EagleCash cards."
A major challenge to the machine fielding effort was due to the fact that EagleCash machines automatically download their transactions to the Federal Bank of Boston via Defense Switching Network phone lines at least once a day, Cloud said.
"The biggest obstacle has been establishing (Defense Switched Network) lines in the post offices," Cloud explained. "Without these established (phone) lines, the postal Soldiers have to manually upload files and send them via the Internet. This is an extra step these Postal Soldiers are willing to do to serve the servicedmembers at their FOBs."
The EagleCash program is well established and that EagleCash card holders can use their cards in other theaters of operation and while travelling in and out of Afghanistan; such as while travelling home for mid-tour leave, De Jesus said.
According to De Jesus, EagleCash is accepted at locations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Egypt, Germany, Honduras, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The effort and difficulty of moving the fielding team around Afghanistan was labor intensive, Cloud said. But the efforts of the 28th Financial Management Company, the 502nd Human Resources Company, and the 101st Financial Management Support Operations Office were all worth it.
For more information about the EagleCash program, visit the EagleCash Web site at http://www.fms.treas.gov/eaglecash.