FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Financial management is the responsibility of every
Sailor in the Navy. As a second class petty officer, you
will have many occasions to counsel and advise your
people on their personal financial management,
responsibilities, and debts. In todays society, finance is
very complex and difficult even for experienced wage
earners. If a person does not manage money wisely, the
repercussions can be devastating and cause a bad credit
rating that could last for years. In addition, indebtedness
is a prosecutable offense under the UCMJ.
You can help your people gain knowledge about
finances that will help them balance their income,
savings, and spending. Navy men and women should
adopt a system of accounting to keep their financial
matters straight. Many of our young, inexperienced
Sailors do not effectively manage their money. Many
coming straight out of school to the Navy have not had
to deal with earning and budgeting.
Every command assigns financial counseling as a
collateral duty to a qualified Sailor. These Sailors
attend a financial counseling training session given by
the Navy to provide them with knowledge and tools to
help Sailors budget and manage their money. The
Basic Military Requirements (BMR), NAVEDTRA
14277, has a very comprehensive section on financial
management. You should review the BMR material to
reacquaint you with facts that will help you when
counseling, advising, and training your people on
financial affairs. Some of the information may be
elementary to you. However, because many young
Navy members often do not grasp these facts, they get
into financial trouble. If you are thoroughly familiar
with these basics, you will be in a better position to
help your shipmates with their financial management.
Keep in mind, the Family Support Program also
provides financial counseling and classes for Sailors
and their spouses. Encourage your people in need of
personal financial help to seek counseling. The Navy
also provides information in OPNAVINST 1740.5,
Personal Financial Management.
FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM
Commanders are responsible for providing
the opportunity for a reasonable quality of life
for Navy personnel and their families. It is both
ethical and pragmatic for Navy leaders to care
for their families - ethical because it is the right
thing to do and pragmatic because care of Navy
members and their families directly impacts
upon job performance, retention, and
readiness. Navy members must be able to
concentrate their energy on the successful
accomplishment of the Navy mission.
OPNAVINST 1754.1A
The Navy family matters! Healthy families
contribute to combat readiness and career retention. To
promote high-quality family life in the Navy, the CNO
set up the Family Support Program in 1979. The
programs mission is to increase readiness and
retention of service members by providing
information, resources, and services that support and
enrich the lives of Navy families as well as single
Sailors. The Family Support Program includes Family
Service Centers, the Family Advocacy Program,
Family Home Care Programs, and the Casualty
Assistance Calls Program.
Family Service Centers
All bases with 500 or more active-duty members
have installation Family Service Centers (FSCs). They
are located throughout the United States and at many
overseas locations. FSCs offer a variety of programs
for single and married Sailors and their families. While
individual FSCs will tailor services and programs to fit
the needs of the local military community, all centers
offer 13 core programs. These programs fall into one of
three areas: (1) information and referral, (2) education
and training, and (3) counseling.
INFORMATION AND REFERRAL.
Resources for the family are abundant. Often
active-duty members and families require assistance in
obtaining specific information about relocating to a
new duty station and establishing themselves in the
military community. Each FSC has an information and
referral specialist who provides assistance and makes
specific referrals for services and programs available
on base and in the civilian community. FSCs also have
3-4
Q3.
The long-term goal of the Personal
Excellence Partnership Program includes an
effort to promote
1.
Navy values
2.
self-worth
3.
responsible citizenship
4.
both 2 and 3 above