Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Miami Herald
November 30, 2006
By Thomas Watkins, Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - Like the other branches of the military, the Army is seeing a marked increase in the number of troops stripped of their security clearances because they are so deep in debt, according to military data obtained by The Associated Press.
Soldiers need security clearance when they work with secret information and sometimes when they are sent overseas. The Pentagon says financial problems can distract personnel from their duties or make them vulnerable to bribery and treason.
The number of soldiers who are losing their clearances because of financial problems has nearly doubled since last year but is still an extremely small percentage of the Army's ranks.
In the past five years, 400 Army soldiers have been stripped of their clearances for financial reasons; during that span, the Army granted 747,000 clearances. After hovering at around 70 revocations per year since 2002, the number jumped to 149 in the fiscal year that ended in September.
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the relatively low numbers reflect efforts to educate soldiers about money management. ''Soldiers from their first days in basic training are reminded of the Army's policy on indebtedness and the possible consequences,'' he said.
Data supplied by the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force showed that the number of clearances denied for financial reasons rose every year between 2002 and 2005, climbing ninefold from 284 at the start of the period to 2,654 last year. More than 7,000 troops in the three branches have lost their clearances because of finances since 2002.
The increase comes as the military is stretched thin by the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military officials said they saw no evidence that personnel have been deliberately falling into debt to stay out of combat.
All the other armed services offer financial planning classes, too. Those branches blame the rise in clearance denials on a lack of financial smarts among recruits; reckless spending among those exhilarated to make it home alive from a tour of duty; and the profusion of ''payday lenders'' -- businesses that allow military personnel to borrow against their next paycheck at extremely high interest rates.
November 30, 2006
By Thomas Watkins, Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - Like the other branches of the military, the Army is seeing a marked increase in the number of troops stripped of their security clearances because they are so deep in debt, according to military data obtained by The Associated Press.
Soldiers need security clearance when they work with secret information and sometimes when they are sent overseas. The Pentagon says financial problems can distract personnel from their duties or make them vulnerable to bribery and treason.
The number of soldiers who are losing their clearances because of financial problems has nearly doubled since last year but is still an extremely small percentage of the Army's ranks.
In the past five years, 400 Army soldiers have been stripped of their clearances for financial reasons; during that span, the Army granted 747,000 clearances. After hovering at around 70 revocations per year since 2002, the number jumped to 149 in the fiscal year that ended in September.
Army spokesman Paul Boyce said the relatively low numbers reflect efforts to educate soldiers about money management. ''Soldiers from their first days in basic training are reminded of the Army's policy on indebtedness and the possible consequences,'' he said.
Data supplied by the Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force showed that the number of clearances denied for financial reasons rose every year between 2002 and 2005, climbing ninefold from 284 at the start of the period to 2,654 last year. More than 7,000 troops in the three branches have lost their clearances because of finances since 2002.
The increase comes as the military is stretched thin by the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military officials said they saw no evidence that personnel have been deliberately falling into debt to stay out of combat.
All the other armed services offer financial planning classes, too. Those branches blame the rise in clearance denials on a lack of financial smarts among recruits; reckless spending among those exhilarated to make it home alive from a tour of duty; and the profusion of ''payday lenders'' -- businesses that allow military personnel to borrow against their next paycheck at extremely high interest rates.