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 today’s 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 program’s  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