Armed Forces
The American Red Cross is there for all members of the Armed Forces. While serving 1.4 million active duty personnel and their immediate family members, the Red Cross also reaches out to the more than 800,000 members of the National Guard/Reserves and their immediate family members who reside in nearly every community in America. Around the clock and around the globe, during times of personal crisis, the Red Cross keeps the American people in touch with their family members serving in the U.S. military with:
Emergency Communication Services
The Red Cross is a lifeline to members of the U.S. Armed Forces sending communications all over the world on behalf of family members who are facing emergencies or other important events. The Red Cross provides this service quickly through a network of chapters, stations, communication centers and staff members serving on military installations and major deployment sites worldwide. This network links military personnel any place in the world (including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units) with their loved ones. The information in the message assists the command to make a valid decision regarding emergency leave. In FY09, the Red Cross provided 137 emergency communication services to military families worldwide. |
Outreach to members of the National Guard/Reserves and their families
The Red Cross found that all too often community-based military didn't know about valuable Red Cross services until they were mobilized. Since 2000, the Red Cross has been reaching out to this population through the "Get to Know Us Program". |
Active duty
Active duty service members stationed in the United States and their immediate family members may call the Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Service Centers for help 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The toll-free telephone number is available through base or installation operators and from local on-base Red Cross offices. |
If your loved one is away from home because of military duty and you need to get in touch with him or her in the event of an emergency, then the American Red Cross can help. To assist us in quickly locating them and sending an emergency message, please have ready the following information:
- Service Member's Full Name
- Rank/Rating
- Branch of Service
- Social Security Number
- Military Address
- Information about the deployed unit and the home base unit (for deployed service members only)
The Red Cross verifies this information and relays it to the appropriate command where it is up to the military whether the service member returns home. Remember, a service member can only come home in an emergency situation. |
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