Jim Walker, CFP®

As the Founder of The Financial Forge, I combine my experience as a CFP® professional, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, and lifelong educator to deliver accessible, high‑impact financial education for individuals, families, and niche communities. My work blends online education, one‑on‑one counseling, and practical tools designed to help people build confidence, clarity, and long‑term resilience in their financial lives. The Financial Forge is built on a simple belief: financial literacy should be empowering, engaging, and tailored to real people with real goals. Through disciplined guidance, creative teaching, and a commitment to service, I help clients forge stronger financial futures with purpose and precision. The tagline is simple, "Crafting financial freedom through education and discipline."

Assistant Professor of Economics and Finance, Finance Curriculum Concentration Director and Department Budget Officer. Courses Taught: SS470 - Money and Banking, SS391 - Finance for Army Leaders, and SS201 - Principles of Economics. West Point Combatives Club OIC.

Sole owner of a New York State Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOB - 181732); consulting on security management, training, leadership, analytics, and strategic planning.

DA Civilian - GS12-0301-07. Second-in-charge of the 24-hour, 365 day a year US Army law enforcement, fire service, and installation access control agency in the Kaiserslautern Military (Army) Community, including twenty US Army installations and 270 US and local national. Managed the day-to-day operations of all first responder operations, as well as all human resource and budgetary matters.

Staff lead for launching the Ready & Resiliency Directorate for a 7000 Soldier unit. Managed a highly skilled team of professionals that collect and analyze data, report, ensure compliance, determine best practice, develop policy, and train on the myriad of aspects concerning the Army’s Ready and Resiliency Campaign.

Commanded the largest Military Police Battalion in the Army, consisting of over 1,100 Soldiers located in Germany, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Selected in the top 10% of all Army Officers to command at the battalion level. Force and training provider for law enforcement, corrections, K9 and combat military police support for the European Theater. Inactivated the battalion in July 2014.

Emergency Management Chief of a 24-hour, 365 day a year army law enforcement, fire service, physical security and installation access control organization for the Kaiserslautern Army Community, including 16 Army installations and 180 US and local nationals.

Police and Finance Advisor to the Afghanistan Ministry of the Interior (MOI), specifically to the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF) and the Disarmament of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) Office in the MOI Counter Terrorism Department. Member of the working group that wrote the implementing strategy to transfer the $1 billion private security operation to the Afghan government (PD62), working closely with ISAF Deputy Commander, US Ambassador and Ashraf Ghani. Served as chief financial advisor to the new state-owned-enterprise designed to assume entire private security mission.

Deputy Emergency Management Chief of a 330 Soldier and civilian workforce; responsible for the safety & security of Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Managed the 24/7 law enforcement, physical security, fire protection, installation access control, and 911 operations.

Second-in-charge of a 770-Soldier Military Police Battalion, served as chief-of-staff for all functions for the unit to include personnel, logistics, maintenance, operations, intelligence, and communications. Invited to brief 3BCT 10th Mountain Division at their pre-deployment leader's conference on the Afghan Police pay corruption study that I conducted while deployed.

Chief planner, trainer, and operations officer for a 600-Soldier Military Police Battalion deployed to Afghanistan. Planned and managed engagements with Afghan National Police forces at the district level. Initiated and helped develop a web-based data management tool for collecting police intelligence. Developed a study on the scope of corruption involved in the Afghan police payment system.

Rotational Army Policy and Strategy (FA59) Fellow to the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM). Researched and lectured on terrorism/insurgency financing, especially with regards to criminal activity. Routinely engaged with the DEA, FBI, DIA, Treasury, DoD, Baltimore PD, and other agencies to better understand scope of issues. Lectured on terrorism financing as part of West Point's Combating Terrorism Center's partnership with the FBI. Guest lectured in Admiral(R) Stansfield Turner's graduate course of Democracy and Terrorism. Published - Byrom, John and Walker, James. "Afghanistan's Transformation to a Narco-Terrorist State: An Economic Perspective," in Counter Terrorism in the 21st Century, Volume II: Combating the Sources and Facilitators, edited by James J.F. Forest. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, p. 196-218.

Instructor, later Assistant Professor, of Economics in the Department of Social Sciences (SOSH) at West Point. Taught 3 semesters of the core Economics course and 1 semester of the senior elective, Money and Banking. Served as department's Budget Officer, a budget that was nearly 66% of the entire budget for all academic department. Fellow for the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), specializing in terrorism and insurgency financing. An instructor for the Advanced Terrorism Seminar. Deployed to Afghanistan for 3 months.

Fourteen years of service (eight Active and six Reserve) including assignments in Indiana, South Korea, Washington DC, Johnston Atoll, Georgia, and Kuwait. Commanded a 170-Soldier company at Fort Stewart, Georgia; deployed the unit to Kuwait following 911. Commanded a 100-Soldier company on Johnston Atoll guarding a chemical weapon's plant. Deputy chief of police for Fort Myer, VA and Fort McNair, DC; led multiple military protective security details for POTUS, VPOTUS, and other U.S. and international dignitaries. Led a 20 Soldier law enforcement special weapons team (SWAT) for 2 years. Led a 25 Soldier platoon for 18-months in the Republic of Korea in the 2D Infantry Division. Enlisted Infantryman in the US Army Reserve from 1988-1994; mobilized Reservist for Operation Desert Storm.

➣ Member of the Fuqua Veterans Club ➣ Member of the Fuqua Real Estate Club ➣ Commuted 3 hours daily from Fort Bragg

➣ Army ROTC; graduated as the Distinguished Military Graduate ➣ Resident Advisor (Dorm Counselor) ➣ Army Reservist mobilized for Desert Storm