When a military family experiences a crisis, the American Red Cross is there to help. Wherever their military service takes them, service members can rest assured that the Red Cross will deliver notification of an emergency such as the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, as well as the good news of the birth of a service member’s child or grandchild.

The Red Cross relays urgent messages containing accurate, factual, complete, and verified descriptions of the emergency to service members stationed anywhere in the world, including on ships at sea and at embassies and remote locations, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Even if the service member receives an email or phone call from home, Red Cross-verified information assists the member and their commanding officers with making a decision regarding emergency leave.

Knowing in advance that communication links, access to financial assistance, and information and referral will be available in an emergency brings peace of mind to service members and to the families from whom they are separated.