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Pentagon urged to do more to help service members with financial needs

By: MARCY GORDON - Associated Press

WASHINGTON ---- The Defense Department needs to do more to help with the financial needs of those in the military, many of whom pay exorbitant prices to borrow or invest and fall deep into debt, a congressional auditor and a lawmaker said Thursday.

Lawmakers are concerned about financial companies that target members of the military with high-pressure sales tactics and charge excessive fees. In addition, a recent report by congressional investigators found that nearly 900 Army soldiers wounded in war ran up $1.2 million in debt because of a military pay system said to be complex and cumbersome.

Many in the military report having difficulty covering their expenses and saving for the future.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., a member of the House Financial Services Committee's investigative panel, said at a hearing that the Defense Department has not done enough for military personnel. "I've not seen anything that's been done to protect them, to educate them," she said.

Waters cited the proliferation near military bases of payday lenders, from whom an estimated 9 percent to 12 percent of members of the military borrow money at high rates against their paychecks.

Valerie Melvin, an official of the Government Accountability Office, Congress' investigative arm, said the Pentagon has taken several steps, including financial management training, but more needs to be done. Some junior enlisted members have not been receiving the mandatory training, according to the GAO.

The Pentagon has said that it is working to resolve the problems. A Defense Department spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke, declined comment Thursday.

Serious financial problems can distract people in the military in performing their duties and affect military readiness, officials say. That can lead to the loss of security clearances and even discharge from the military.

For soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, the GAO has noted that limited Internet access, the cost of calling from overseas and delays in mail delivery have contributed to financial problems.

In February, securities-industry regulators, alarmed by the abusive marketing to military recruits of overpriced, unsuitable mutual funds and life insurance, started a campaign to educate service members and their spouses on financial matters.

The National Association of Securities Dealers' $6.8 million program provides financial training programs for military spouses and financial counselors located on bases.

The sessions, which include seminars on stock scams, predatory lending and college savings plans, have been held in Honolulu, on U.S. bases in Japan and on an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.

On the Net:

Government Accountability Office: http://www.gao.gov

National Association of Securities Dealers: http://www.nasd.com

Defense Department: http://www.defenselink.mil

...from an e-mail...

A Forgotten Soldier

What is this picture?

Obviously, it's a picture in a cemetery. What cemetery and whose grave?

Sadly, it's the grave of Casey Sheehan. After two years, and a DoD payment of $250,000 to the "Peace Mom", Cindy Sheehan has not had the time or bothered to have a headstone placed on this young hero's grave. And, she doesn't even have to pay for one, the DoD will provide one:

"The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) furnishes upon request, at no charge to the applicant, a government headstone or marker for the grave of any deceased eligible veteran in any cemetery around the world. For all deaths occurring before September 11, 2001, the VA may provide a headstone or marker only for graves that are not marked with a private headstone.

Flat markers in granite, marble, and bronze and upright headstones in granite and marble are available. The style chosen must be consistent with existing monuments at the place of burial. Niche markers are also available to mark columbaria used for inurnment of cremated remains."

Apparently she can find time to protest on at least 3 continents, get arrested various times, go on vacation in Hawaii, have photo ops with our Marxist enemies in Venezuela, fraternize with other Socialists here and abroad, but can't seem to find the time to properly mark her son's grave. The same son upon whom she bases all her poisonous rhetoric and public display of anti-American, anti-war protests.

Ex-husband Patrick Sheehan said that the small plaque currently marking Casey's grave is something all graves receive before a headstone is constructed. Casey's headstone is in the works, he said, and is being built by a local monument company. No thanks to the mouthy, obnoxious, fame-adicted mom.

Story verified by www.Snopes.com (Type in Casey Sheehan)

http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/sheehangrave.asp