Here's help for service members facing deployment
Page | 1 | 2 |

3. Financial issues. In order to plan a family budget while you're deployed, you need to familiarize yourself with the amount of pay and allowances that the military provides during deployment. Then you can construct a budget that covers family expenses and some extras and even accumulates a savings cushion while these benefits are flowing.

Once you're back home, your pay and allowance status returns to its pre-deployment rate, so it's best not to think of any extra pay as regular income, but as a short-term bonus that you'll save for long-term goals and/or a special purchase or two.

And if the pay doesn't change back once you're home, don't look on it as an unexpected gift, because the military usually ends up finding out and will deduct from future paychecks to recoup the overpaid amounts, says Laura Taylor, director of education and community relations for the Greater Washington Center for Financial Education.

Resources for fixing financial issues:

• Pay and allowances. The system is confusing and changes as Congress passes new laws and the Department of Defense and service branches add benefits. The Guard & Reserve Family Readiness Programs Toolkit -- also recommended as a resource for those on active duty -- includes a packet that summarizes pay and allowances and links to sites that provide current pay and allowance amounts. • Budgeting. Once you've assessed your resources, its time to look at the bills and make sure you've got enough to cover expenses, including an emergency fund for unexpected bills such as car repairs. There's is a checklist on Military.com that includes suggestions on what to add to your budget list. Bankrate.com is a content partner with Military.com. • Insurance. Make sure your Servicemembers' & Veterans' Group Life Insurance, or SGLI, beneficiary is updated to reflect your current circumstances. If you've recently married or divorced, you want to make sure that the appropriate person is named in your policy, a change that you need to make yourself before you're deployed. Forms to change your beneficiary, change the coverage amount, file claims, etc. are available at www.insurance.va.gov, which links to a FAQ and rumor mill page about the insurance policies. • Small business issues. If you're a reservist who owns a small business and you're deployed, you and your business partners and employees need to make special preparations. An overview of what to do and resources to help is at www.operationhomefront.org/Info/info_deploy_smallbiz.shtml. • Job leave. While reservists who are employees may seem to have it easier than the self-employed, there are lots of issues involved in making sure your employer is fully informed of your service obligations and how to make sure you get your job or an equivalent job back on your return. The National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve has a comprehensive Web site for both employers and reservists that goes over laws governing employment of reservists and ways to make sure both the service members' and employers' needs are met before, during and after deployment.

Repeat deployment
If you're on your second, third or even fourth deployment, don't assume that the system is the same as the last time you went overseas. Be sure to update your paperwork and insurance policies with the correct information, go over that budget again and see if your pay and allowances have changed.

Unfortunately, service members on repeat deployments and their families find they receive less support in terms of counseling and information than during the first deployment, according to a survey conducted by the National Military Family Association. So you may have to make more of an effort to gear up for deployment and make sure you're taking advantage of all the protections programs available to members of the military in this situation.

For an overview of the protections available, see "Laws can protect returning military personnel." In addition, AmeriForce Publishing offers a Deployment Guide for 2006 that includes articles with tips on how to adjust to redeployment.