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FROM THE RAFINO PRESIDENT
Greetings to all FCA Members and Spouses! RAFINO is at a Crossroads in
many ways. The membership numbers of RAFINO, the senior organization of
veteran Finance Corps soldiers, are in decline. The average age of the
RAFINO membership is 75-80 years. I need to close the gap between
“Retirement-Eligible” Finance soldiers who are members of the FCA but not
RAFINO. Many of us are Life Members of both organizations and that
provides both the FCA and RAFINO with a crossover touchstone for
experience and expanded camaraderie.

In 2024, I will be making a major push on two fronts to re-invigorate RAFINO
with “youth” and to add to the RAFINO Board leadership that has seen COL (R) Kelly
multiple resignations and pending resignations due to personal and health
reasons.

First, I will send out invitations to Active Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard FCA members
in the grades of E8s and above; and the grades of O5s and above who are “Retirement-Eligible”
but not RAFINO members. I also will be inviting all “Retirement-Eligible” FCA members to our
2024 Charleston reunion event to “kick the tires” of RAFINO and see if it is a good choice for you
and your spouse. We have streamlined the membership process by requiring all new and
existing members to become Life Members, which is inexpensive. For those Finance Corps
soldiers who would like to join RAFINO sooner, here is the link to apply for membership, RAFINO
- New Membership Application

Second, I will be soliciting volunteers from the RAFINO ranks to fill Board positions initially in an
acting capacity and then stand for election, if there is an interest, in October 2024. The important
point for me is to get volunteers necessary to accomplish the mission at hand and ensure that
RAFINO remains viable as an Veterans’ organization.

Charleston! Charleston! Charleston! VP for Reunions, John Veal, has set the calendar for the
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2024 Reunion. October 15 is the early-bird check-in, and the end of Reunion Banquet will take
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place on the evening of October 19 ; the Checkout date will be Sunday morning on October 20 .
John will send out the official “Save the Date” email with preliminary information about lodging
and events sometime during the 4 Quarter 2023. Our working title Theme for the 2024 Reunion
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continues to be “The Army Finance Corps down through the Years.”
As part of my RAFINO membership drive, I will invite “retirement-eligible” Finance and
Comptroller soldiers to the 2024 Reunion in Charleston. These soldiers are defined as Active
Duty, Army Reserve, and National Guard E-8s through E-9s who are not members of RAFINO; and
O-5s through O-9s who are not members of RAFINO. They will pay the non-member registration
fees that will be changed to the discounted member registration fees if they join RAFINO before
or during the Reunion event.

I have also received commitments from BG Paige Jennings, Commander of USA Financial
Management Command; BG Rebecca McElwain, Director of Operations and Support, ASA
(FM&C); and COL Michelle Williams, Commandant of the USA Finance & Comptroller School to
participate in a Finance Corps 2030 Workshop that will be held during the Reunion. A lot of
changes have occurred since most of the RAFINO membership retired. The workshop will bring
us all up to date on the Army sustainment wartime and peacetime missions of the Army Finance
Corps. The soon to be released Army FM 4-80 (Comptroller and Finance Operations) will be the
centerpiece of this workshop. It will be informative, and you will hear from the Finance Corps top
leadership who are responsible for the implementation/execution of the new doctrine. I have
spoken with the Army Financial Management and Comptroller SGM, Terry Anderson, and he

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