Deployment

Because deployment takes you away from home for a long time, it's important to get organized beforehand. Community Bank wants to help make your deployment as smooth as possible, with products and resources to help you before, during, and after deployment.

Our Deployment Checklist can help you prepare and avoid some of the difficulties you may encounter afterward. While deployed you can continue to access our full range of banking services Online and through your Mobile device, as well as through our Bank by Phone service. Be sure to have your Account Information when setting up your online account for the first time.

• Receive important Account Information Alerts by e-mail. A wide range of alerts, including Low Balance and Direct Deposit Received, can keep you on track when you're far from home.
• Whether it's a family emergency or a routine transfer, we make it easy for you to send wires to the U.S. while you're deployed.
• Transfer the extra pay you receive during deployment from your Checking to Savings Account by setting up Automatic Monthly Transfers. If you wisely invest your deployment pay in the military's Savings Deposit Program, after three months post-deployment you can transfer those funds to your Savings Account. Use our online Monthly Deposit Savings Calculator to see how much interest you could earn.

• Set up direct deposit. Having your funds directly deposited into your checking or saving account is the fastest and most secure way to ensure funds are available when needed. Make sure your spouse or whomever you've given power of attorney to has access to this account.
• Service members are responsible for their household expenses/bills while they are deployed. Before deploying, set up Community Bank's Automatic Bill Payment service to pay all recurring bills.
• Arrange for payment of your income tax if your taxes must be filed and paid while you are deployed.
• Notify your credit card companies that you will be deployed and make sure that credit cards will not expire while you are deployed.
• Establish an emergency fund and begin putting aside money should a situation arise while you're gone.
• If you have a safe deposit box, make sure a family member has a key.
• Register for online access to your accounts and retain user IDs and passwords, as needed.

Adjusting to life after deployment can be a difficult and emotional time for Service members. Community Bank is aware of the significance of this period and offers resources and products to help with your needs:

• With the extra pay and bonuses you may have received for deployment, follow your pre-deployment savings plan to pay down debt and establish emergency savings. Then deposit the extra pay into a Savings Account and/or CD. Use our Certificate of Deposit Calculator to see the return you could make by investing your money.
• If you sold your car before deployment and want to buy a new one after you return, we can help you get back on the road with a competitive-rate New Car Loan.

Deployment

• Read Deployment: Financial Preparation
• Read Kiplinger BBB Military Line Financial Field Manual PDF Page 9 Strategies Before and After Deployment. The inside back cover features a helpful Organization Worksheet to summarize key details of your financial and legal documents.
• Read Managing Your Money While Deployed, One Soldier’s Story
• Read Make the Most of Your Finances During Deployment
• Read Preparation Aids Financial Stability During Deployments

(Post-Deployment) Reintegration

• Read De-Mobilization Employer Support Checklist
• Read 7 Financial Moves Returning Reservists Need to Make

Now that you've read about the many financial considerations of deployment, it's time to apply what you've learned.

• Set written financial goals for the entire deployment period (pre-, during, and post-deployment).
• Print and review our Deployment Checklist to prepare for your written plan.
• Create a written plan of steps to be taken and strategies to be used. If you are married, create this plan with your spouse and make sure all steps are actionable and scheduled with a specific date. Use applicable calculators to help you define amounts as necessary.
• Print the Organization Worksheet found on the inside back cover of the Kiplinger-BBB Military Line Financial Field Manual PDF to summarize key details of your financial and legal documents.

Once you've returned from deployment, take the following steps:

• Review the written goals you identified prior to your deployment and identify those that are 'on track' and those that were not met.
• Redefine goals as necessary.
• Review your pre-deployment written plan. Congratulate yourself for all you accomplished prior to and during deployment. Adjust your plan to include steps that still need to be accomplished.