OBSC grads build banking bench, extend Army readiness

Lean, mean and moving green, the U.S. Army’s ability to fund and sustain the fight around the globe just grew with six newly graduated banking experts.

These six Soldiers from around the Army graduated the U.S. Army Financial Management Command’s Operational Banking Short Course at the Maj. Gen. Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indianapolis Sept. 12.

Graduates of OBSC Class 03-25 include:

• Master Sgt. Toya Culwell, 93rd Finance Battalion senior enlisted advisor;

• Capt. Hydeia Pickett, 15th FIBN disbursing officer;

• 1st Lt. Jonathan Padilla, 125th FIBN deputy disbursing officer;

• Capt. Kali Rose, 125th FIBN disbursing officer;

• Capt. Jasmine Thompson, USAFMCOM Department of the Army banking officer; and

• Capt. Marcques Walker, 1128th Finance Company disbursing officer.

“The OBSC provides in-depth training to all three Army Components for finance and comptroller Soldiers to gain insights into the Army Banking Program,” explained Shawn Crocker, USAFMCOM Department of the Army deputy banking officer. “Upon graduation, these Soldiers are able to advise commanders on establishing financial institutions and ATMs on Army installations, evaluate foreign financial institutions for establishing limited depositary accounts, and provide banking infrastructure evaluations as part of an economic analysis.”

This provides a direct impact to battlefield commanders and warfighters alike.

“To enhance operational readiness and reduce the security and logistical burdens of transporting cash, the Army strategically analyzes foreign financial institutions for stability and compliance,” explained Thompson. “By establishing LDAs and thoroughly assessing the local banking infrastructure, we create a reliable pathway for funds so commanders can focus on sustaining the mission through prompt payments to local vendors and contractors, while simultaneously providing full auditability for every dollar spent.”

Crocker concurred, stating that one of the Soldiers deploying next year will almost immediately put the coursework into practice, and the two Soldiers from the 125th FIBN are already leveraging what they learned as the Army continues to stand up LDAs across the Pacific theater.

For Thompson’s part, she said beyond the rules and regulations, the OBSC provided her with the intangibles necessary for success.

“Understanding the processes within banks and the relationships throughout the Department of War’s banking program and across the Army Financial Management Center banking teams was really critical,” she elaborated.

The OBSC was fully implemented in 2022 to augment the Army’s yearlong Training with Industry banking program, which is only for the Active Component and can only graduate two banking officers per year.

Since the program’s inception, nearly 100 Soldiers, approximately 75 officers and 25 NCOs, graduated OBSC as banking experts.

The OBSC hybrid course consists of a self-paced online program, which generally takes four weeks to complete, and the course concludes in residence with one week at the Armed Forces Bank in Kansas City and one week at USAFMCOM Headquarters in Indianapolis.

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USAFMCOM delivers precision enterprise-wide financial operations to integrate, synchronize and sustain the battlefield through the Joint Strategic Support Area. The two-star command also directly supports the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller in their role as the principal advisor on all matters related to financial management and comptrollership.

The 45th Finance Center serves as the sole Army Financial Management Center assigned to the USAFMCOM as the command’s operational arm and early deployer to conduct theater preparation operations.