Service to the Armed Forces | How to Access Red Cross Assistance |
Supporting Military Members and Their Families.
The American Red Cross is there to support 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 1.2 million 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. Within the last twelve months the Red Cross provided 630,470 emergency communication services to 173,796 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.
Social services which includes access to financial assistance, counseling, family support and assistance with representation at the Board of Veterans Appeals.
Family Support Groups available at many Red Cross chapters and stations. Here family members can be with others who are also learning to cope with separation and about community resources that can help them. See links below for local and national resources.
Training Courses to help family members deal with loved ones being deployed.
Coping with Deployment Course (American Red Cross Developed Course) With today's pace of military deployments, the armed forces are paying increasing attention to preparing service members to cope with the psychological stress of combat and its aftermath. The Red Cross believes it is equally important to prepare family members to ensure they are better able to deal with the challenges of 'serving' at home while their loved one is deployed.
Coping with Deployments: Psychological First Aid for Military Families was developed out of the Red Cross' continuing commitment to serve military families. At present, it is the only national level course specifically designed for military family members that bridges all lines of service. This course was designed specifically for the spouses, parents, siblings and significant others of service members. It provides useful information on how to strengthen your ability to successfully respond to the challenges that military family members may encounter throughout the deployment cycle. It also explains how to provide psychological first aid to others experiencing stressful feelings or events.
