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Johnson, Petraeus seek financial help for soldiers | The Daily ...

The wife of retired Gen. David Petraeus said members of the military, their families and veterans often face the same enemy as other people: financial stress.

Holly Petraeus, assistant director of the Office of Servicemember Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said payday lenders and others who offer quick, high-interest loans often locate near military bases.

They are “like bears at a trout stream,” Petraeus said.

She said some members of the military are at risk of losing their homes because of trouble with the mortgages that is often compounded by their transitory career.

She took part in a conference call Wednesday with Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

Petraeus said she was “honored” to be asked to join the call and spread the word about the issue and her agency.

She has three main goals:

* To ensure military personnel and families get consumer education to help them make informed decisions;

* To monitor the consumer complaints that come in to the government and the responses that are issued;

* And to coordinate with other federal agencies to help protect and inform military personnel, their families, retirees and veterans.

“I think a soldier who is preoccupied with financial troubles is not able to give 100 percent to their job,” Petraeus said. “And that can be dangerous both to them and the people with which they serve.”

She is working to educate and train members of the military, their families, retirees and veterans on how to better handle their finances. Many have problems with their home mortgages, she said, and are “under water,” with their homes worth less than what they owe.

“Certainly, a big concern for them is the housing market right now,” Petraeus said. “That’s an issue that is a real concern.”

She said some members of the military cannot refinance their homes since they often move from base to base.

Petraeus said she relocated 24 times in 37 years. Her husband David is a retired four-star general who now serves as the director of the CIA.

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