Immediate Response and Mission Continuity: The Defense Credit Union Difference in Times of Crisis – Part 1
America’s credit unions continue to step up their support whenever our country’s communities are in need. In fact, the entire credit union industry, which includes regulators, trade associations, state leagues and associations, service organizations, and a host of dedicated vendors, is in position to handle the effects of the pandemic by providing emergency financial products and services. I am particularly proud of our Defense Credit Unions, whose service in our nation’s time of need remains second to none.
Given the sheer amount of information being shared during this time, I wanted to make sure that their work does not go unnoticed. As such, this week I will be highlighting a few of the major areas where our members have stepped up on military installations.
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE: Defense credit unions helped preserve military readiness by quickly transitioning to limited hours, availability by appointment, or full branch closures based on installation commander guidelines. Per DoD regulation, the level of service for on-base branches is determined by the Installation Commander. The quick implementation of these measures protected the health of the credit union staff and military members who are always on call to defend our nation.
Many defense credit unions offered to keep their drive-through lanes open for transactions and regularly serviced their ATMs for continued use while maintaining proper social distancing strategies. Online banking and call centers remained operational to process requests for affected servicemembers and their families as well.
The speed for implementing these measures is critical, and defense credit unions make sure implementation processes for any emergency plan are a well-rehearsed part of a military installation’s "continuity of operations plan" or COOP. Keeping command relationships and lines of communication open is an integral part of serving the military community. This is especially important during a crisis event.
ENSURING MISSION CONTINUITY: In addition to adapting and maintaining credit union operations, defense credit unions remained fully ready to support their installation’s mission. For example, despite branch closures and limited hours and access, defense credit unions remained on call to supply critical and ongoing military missions with requirements for cash. Without expeditionary cash, military missions simply cannot succeed.
Plus, many defense credit unions also manage their installation’s Treasury General Account (TGA). As such, they were available to assist the commissary (i.e., the on-base grocery store) and the military exchanges (i.e., the on-base department store) with daily deposits and cash needed to make change. For many military families, these two entities are the only means of obtaining food and critical supplies during an emergency. Thus, enabling business operations to continue via management of the TGA on the installation. This is an important function for defense credit unions, and one made even more important during COVID-19.
As I stated above, Defense Credit Unions have gone above and beyond during this time to make sure their military communities have been served while implementing measures to protect their staff and their military members. Look out for Part 2 of this series on Wednesday, where I will highlight why Defense Credit Unions were uniquely prepared to respond to this crisis.