Emergency Communications How to Contact the Red Cross for Assistance
Service Members, retirees, Department of Defense civilians and their immediate family members, can call the Service to the Armed Forces Center for help 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 877-272-7337 (toll-free).
The American Red Cross also provides 24-hour emergency communication services to personnel stationed at military installations overseas. Personnel can access Red Cross services by calling base/installation operators or on-base Red Cross stations. Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services workers are also sent to areas of conflict when military personnel are deployed. When calling the Red Cross to send an emergency message to a family member, please have the following information ready: -Service Member's Full Name -Rank/Rating -Branch of Service -Social Security Number -Military Address Where Deployed -Military Unit -Date of Birth -Service Member's Telephone Numbers When a military family experiences a crisis, the American Red Cross is there to help. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, the Red Cross relays urgent messages containing accurate, factual, complete and verified descriptions of family emergencies to service members stationed anywhere in the world, including on ships at sea, at embassies and remote or isolated military locations. Red Cross emergency communications services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, the birth of a service member's child or grandchild or when a family faces other emergencies. Red Cross emergency communication services differ from communications received by email, text or phone calls from home, as the Red Cross-verified information assists commanding officers with making a decision regarding emergency leave, extending leave, and compassionate reassignments. Without this verification, the service member may not be able to come home during a family crisis. Where ever their military service takes them, he or she knows that the Red Cross will deliver notification in times of an emergency at home.
Emergency Communication Services Include: Social Services: including access to financial assistance, counseling, family support and assistance with representation at the Board of Veterans Appeals. Emergency Financial Assistance: The American Red Cross works under partnership agreements with the Air Force Aid Society, Army Emergency Relief, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, and Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society to provide quality, reliable financial assistance to eligible applicants 24/7/365. Types of assistance include financial assistance for emergency travel, burial of a loved one, and assistance to avoid privation (food, temporary lodging, urgent medical needs, or the minimum amount required to avoid eviction, utility shut off, etc.) In FY 08, the Red Cross, in partnership with the military aid societies, facilitated access to more than $5.8 million in financial aid to more than 5,000 service members, their military dependents, retired military personnel and widows of retired military personnel. Casualty Travel Assistance Program: The Casualty Travel Assistance Program (CTAP) provides travel assistance for two immediate family members to attend a memorial or funeral service for a service member killed on active duty in the combat zone and to travel to the bedside of a service member wounded in the combat zone. -Assistance includes funding for: -Roundtrip airfare -Lodging costs -Food and incidentals Information and Referral: while the Red Cross cannot meet all of the needs of our military, we can provide service members, veterans and their families with important information to assist with problem solving and offer referrals to other community or national service providers that can meet the need. Support Staff: members who deploy overseas along with members of the military and handle emergency communications. They can offer respite from harsh conditions and bring a little bit of home to the troops by operating a 24-hour canteen service with coffee, cold drinks, snacks, games, videos and books. Red Cross teams also visit patients in clinics and hospitals. Family Support: many Red Cross chapters and stations host family support groups that provide valuable educational information about deployment cycle issues. Here family members can be with others who are also learning to cope with separation or reunion  and reintegration as well as gain knowledge about community resources that can help them. Commanders of military units and family support program coordinators can help us get this vital information to the service members and families that need it by requesting a Get To Know Us Before You Need Us (GTKU) briefing offered by your local Chapter.  To view the GTKU brochure click here. To request a GTKU  briefing click here.