FORT SILL, Okla. -- Being recognized as the best Army bank is nothing new for the Fort Sill National Bank at Fort Sill, Okla.

For the 10th year, FSNB won the Department of the Army Distinguished Bank Service Award as the best bank on an Army post in the continental United States for 2012. The award recognized FSNB for its outstanding banking services and products, customer satisfaction and financial education classes to the military community.

Maj. Gen. Mark McDonald, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general, presented the award to John Davis, FSNB president, June 24 at the bank here off Randolph Road.

"You can't win it if you're not working with your installation," Davis said. "At Fort Sill we've had a good working relationship with the installation."

Selection for this award is an indication of the excellent working partnership that exists between McDonald, the FSNB bank liaison officer and its bank staff, wrote James Watkins, deputy assistant secretary of the Army (Financial Operations), in a memo that was read during the ceremony.

Jamie Southerland, FSNB Field Operations manager, said it was an honor being recognized for what the bank wants to do to work with Soldiers, their families and DoD employees with their finances.

"We're happy to have the award, and we just found out that we were awarded by the Department of the Air Force as well," she said.

FSNB has 80 branches, including sites at Naval and Marine Corps bases. Fort Sill is the only Army post with an FSNB.

During the presentation, McDonald said the Army has been presenting the award since 1984, and FSNB has won it in 1989 through 1991, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2008 and 2010.

The strength of Soldiers and their families is backed up by the strength of community, the general said.

"Places like the Fort Sill National Bank make this a strong community," the general said. "And, it's great to have you here to make this the best post in the Army."

One of the areas that the DoD emphasizes is free financial education and counseling to the military community, Davis said.

FSNB offers the Spending and Budget Plans class every Friday. Other classes include Saving and Investing, Basic Financial Managment, Buying a New Car and classes for furloughed employees to stretch their dollars. The bank is willing to offer classes on any money topic that Soldiers might want, said Southerland, who runs the financial education program. Last year, about 2,000 Soldiers and civilians took classes at FSNB.

The DA award criteria also looked at special services banks provided their customers: going above and beyond regular services, said Southerland. It looked at how well a bank served the challenges of the military lifestyle, such as frequent moves.

For example, if a Soldier opened an account here, and subsequently is transferred to another post, they can still get, say, a car loan, through FSNB, Davis said. "We've been doing that since the 1940s."

Davis noted one year Fort Sill had thousands of reservists here for training, and who were receiving paper paychecks. FSNB opened on a Saturday with extra staff to cash the checks with no service charge, he said. "Those are the types of things we do when needed."

FSNB began here in 1942, as a check cashing facility. In 1946, FSNB was established as the first commercial banking facility on a Department of Defense installation. Today, it has more than 900 employees at 80 branches in 10 states, and at six military locations. No more than one banking institution and one credit union is permitted to operate on a DoD installation consistent with part 230 of Title 32, Code of Federal Regulations.