Mobile finance team visits remote COP

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (Dec. 5, 2008) – A mobile finance office team provided their services to Soldiers of Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, Combined Joint Task Force Currahee, located at combat outposts in eastern Afghanistan November 28th.  

A team of two Soldiers from the 126th Finance, Echo Detachment, out of the 18th Airborne Infantry Corp, made their first stop at COP Malekshay.

The Charlie Company troops received most of the services provided by finance offices at the larger bases and air fields.

Malekshay is isolated in a remote region of Afghanistan surrounded by mountains and is near the Pakistan border. The Soldiers there do not have access to the same luxuries as Soldiers located at larger bases.

“Any finance problem you have, we can work on,” said Cpl. Duwayne Barrett, finance team member, from New York City, N.Y. “We make sure you have money.”

The finance troops travel a lot.

According to Barrett, they spend around two thirds of their deployment travelling to locations that do not have access to finance offices located at larger bases. They've been able to see a lot of smaller bases in their area of operation since they arrived in Afghanistan.

“We're here to help with the Soldier’s morale,” said Spc. Antwann Newell, from Hopeville, N.C.  “It’s hard to be on the battlefield, you shouldn't have to worry about your wife and children back home having money issues.”

The finance troops also provide Soldiers with a chance to address finance issues, purchase Eagle Cash cards, or set up a thrift savings account, said Spc. Bradley Young, a Soldier with Charlie Co., and a native of Columbia, MO.

“The finance team provides us with a chance to draw cash directly,” Young said. “In our situation, we don't really have an ATM machine to withdraw cash.”

Malekshay was the first of five locations Barrett and Newell will visit before returning back to their base. They take their services to the Soldiers, instead of the Soldiers having to come to them, allowing for Soldiers to focus on the mission at hand.