Print page

For more than 50 years, First Command
has served those in greatest need
of competent, ethical financial planning.

First Command’s history of serving the financial planning needs of American families begins in the early 1950s, when United States Air Force Lt. Col. Carroll Payne had the occasion to work closely with the families of several crew members killed in an aircraft accident. Saddened by the survivors’ financial difficulties and recognizing that without intervention, military families would struggle and often fail to realize their financial goals and dreams, Lt. Col. Payne began laying the groundwork for the company he would organize in 1958 and which would grow to become First Command.

Today, First Command provides not only financial solutions for military professionals and their families, but extends its more than 50 years of experience to the delivery of financial solutions for federal employees and life stage financial solutions for individuals and families from all walks of life.

Our mission is to enhance the financial well-being of all who aspire to affluence, with a special emphasis on middle-income Americans earning $50,000 and upwards annually. These hard-working individuals and families, representing nearly half (45 percent) of all Americans and greatly needing competent financial planning, are often overlooked and under-served by other firms.