Page 18 - FCA Diamond Point Sept 2022_Edits

FROM THE FIELD

US Army Financial Management Command

(USAFMCOM) Corner
Army Banking Program serves Soldiers, builds readiness: (Cont’d)

U.S. Army banking officers and NCOs, under the direction of the USAFMCOM’s Army banking
officer, are charged with establishing relationships with host-nation banking institutions,
evaluating them as potential partners and negotiating operating agreements with them to finance
theater operations.

“The way the Army pays twice a month and in host-nation currency makes it the customer-of-
choice for banks in a competitive environment,” explained Worley. “In the next major conflict,
which will likely be on another continent, the resources will be limited, so being the customer-of-
choice is critical to securing the banking resources we need.”

Army banking professionals also work hand-in-hand with the U.S. State Department and
embassies to ensure the Army isn’t doing business with sanctioned entities or inadvertently
providing money to businesses funneling money to adversaries.

“As we fix our eyes on large-scale combat operations against potential near-peer adversaries, we
need to build the skills and abilities our Soldiers and commanders will need to fight and win the
next war,” said Rivera. “And, we know we are going to need multiple banking teams due to the
potential distributed nature of the future battlefield.”

To meet that need, the Army Finance Corps now has two distinct, but related, courses aimed a
training the required banking officers and NCOs needed with the specific technical and policy
training on the most recent federal laws and regulations that impact banking operations.

“The banking environment changes often to meet the needs of its customers and compliance and
laws changes that happen over time,” explained Rivera. “Due to this constantly evolution, the
Army Finance Corps participates in a Training with Industry program that trains one officer and
one NCO per year on banking operations.”

TWI is a highly-competitive program that prepares graduates for administration of the Army
Banking Program through extensive industry training in bank operations, coordination with
outside agencies, and accredited online courses through American Bankers Association.
Graduates also earn a diploma in military banking operations.

Current Army regulations only allow the Active Component to participate in the TWI program, and
that program only produces a maximum of two trained Soldiers per year.

To address the increased need for banking Soldiers to ready for large scale combat operations,
USAFMCOM created a shorter version of the training, called the Operational Banking Short Course,
to expand and build the bench of Army banking trained personnel.

“This shorter version still relies on the civilian enterprise to receive the latest and greatest training
that is relevant to Army Banking operations,” explained Rivera.

The hybrid model of the banking short course involves two online training sessions through the
American Bankers Association, a one-week onsite visit with the Armed Forces Bank in Kansas
City, and one week in Indianapolis with the USAFMCOM Army banking officer.

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