Wendy McGill, vice president of marketing at Marine Federal Credit Union in Jacksonville, N.C., said the credit union has definitely seen the impact of deployments to combat zones.

"There was a large deployment a year ago," she explained. "They are just now returning. Some other units are heading over there, but the large bulk of ours have returned. They seem to rotate (callups) between the Atlantic Coast and the Pacific Coast as far as the Marine Corps is concerned."

McGill said that in addition to helping Marines who are members, MFCU has been assisting spouses and families. There are financial classes for Marines before they ship out and after they return, and some units do invite the families. There are many military spouses who work at the credit union, so whether someone is wearing the eagle-globe-and-anchor Marine emblem or not, "it's pretty much a military community," McGill said.

MFCU has a financial counselor who works on the base, and a financial instructor who teaches classes. There are also classes, including evening sessions, at the credit union's main office in Jacksonville.

The credit union has hosted Operation Best Wishes several times. The program allows families of deployed troops to send a video to their relative overseas.

"There are a lot of military credit unions that do that," McGill said. "We're doing what we can. Troops are so involved before they go with training to make sure they're going to be as safe as possible. Sometimes it's difficult for them to give us enough time to explain all the aspects of their financial affairs they need to be aware of — but we do all we can with the time they can give us."

Randall Robinson is president/CEO of South Carolina National Guard Federal Credit Union, Columbia, S.C. Robinson noted the credit union has served the Army National Guard for more than 40 years, and about a year ago added the Air National Guard to its field of membership.

The current conflicts in the Middle East have drawn heavily on the National Guard, and that's reflected at SCNGFCU. Of the 6,000 members, a large contingent has been serving in Afghanistan, and is scheduled to return in a few weeks. Other groups are preparing to go.

"We've seen some cases where Guardsmen have gone, returned and gone again. I think that's going to been a continuous thing," Robinson said.

"A lot of these guys have volunteered to go because the money is so good. It's tax-free money since they're serving in a combat zone, and when they come back they have money in their account. We try to get them to save that money. A lot of them who have been gone for a year want to buy something, and they have cash in their pocket.

"We try to talk to them before they leave, maybe suggesting they consolidate all their debts into one loan here. By the time they come back, they may have everything paid off."

Although the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act provides reserve component service members called to active duty with some financial protection, such as reduced interest rates on mortgages and credit card debits, Robson said the impact on SCNGFCU has been minimal.

One thing he has seen is great improvement in communication to and from troops stationed in combat zones. Robinson was at the credit union during Desert Storm in 1991 and describes today's information technology as "incredible." He said the credit union gets phone calls and e-mail from troops all the time.

"We even get calls or e-mail asking, 'Hey, how about sending my wife flowers? Take it out of my account,'" he recalled.

All the deployed troops have direct deposit, and even in Iraq or Afghanistan they can click onto their account, check the balance, transfer funds, and take care of other financial business.

Despite all these positives, Robinson would like to do a better job of linking to Family Readiness Groups sponsored by the military to aid families of deployed troops. He especially wants to develop relationships with spouses or parents and let them know the credit union is available to assist them.

"We're going to do anything we can to help them and the servicemen and women," he declared.

At Ft. Gordon Federal Credit Union in Georgia, President/CEO Kyle Lowe said at any one time 500 to 750 soldiers from the base, mainly a training facility, are deployed. One impact on the credit union has been a decline in loan volume. Troops who are overseas, or anticipating shipping out, have shied away from taking on new debt.

However, Lowe indicates other credit unions in the area with primarily or entirely civilian membership have also seen loan activity shrink, in their case primarily due to uncertainty about the economy.

Lowe pointed out troops had little or no warning for Desert Storm. They were called into a gymnasium, received immunizations, learned about opening accounts and direct deposit, went on to other processing stations, and were allowed one phone call home.

"Today they know well in advance it's going to happen and they have plenty of opportunity to take care of their financial needs and other things before they leave," he said.

"We've relaxed some of our requirements for people who might be overseas. For instance, if someone wants to wire some money ordinarily we would require a signature. But if they call or e-mail us, a lot of times we'll do it without a signature. We try to make things more convenient. But there really aren't many emergency situations where we have to do anything out of the ordinary."

Whether deployed or serving stateside, many soldiers are young and don't have a lot of financial experience. So FGFCU has introduced its version of a payday loan, which for a flat $6 offers up to $500 regardless of credit standing.

The credit union is also involved with the elementary school on base, and has provided at least $5,000 to Fisher House, a place where family members can stay free while wounded soldiers are being treated at the hospital.

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