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March 31, 2003
Emergency Military Contact Info
If you have a family member in the military, and you need to contact them quickly due to an emergency, would you know whom to call for help? Your local Red Cross chapter, that's who. They will work with the military to find and deliver a message to the service member as quickly as humanly possible.
I can vouch for their efficiency. Last year, right before Christmas, there was a death in my ex's immediate family. My son had just gotten stationed in Japan, and we didn't have any way to contact him. (He was calling me once a week, but had just called the day before.) I called the Red Cross, gave them all the information I had. They called the funeral home to confirm, and then relayed the message to Japan. My son called about 2 hours later, was granted emergency leave and was here within 2 days. The military and the Red Cross moved heaven & earth to ensure he made it in time for the funeral. I don't know what we would've done without them. They were wonderful.
Of course, this service is reserved for real emergencies, like serious illness or death, and they _will_ check to make sure it's real. But there's also another situation with which they will help.
Families also can use the program if they have not heard from their military family member in several months. A message will be sent to the soldier to contact his family.
"Kids don't write, and mothers get concerned," Horn said of young enlisted personnel. "I've seen first sergeants grab them up, sit them down with a postcard and make them write their mothers."
Heh heh. I bet their first sergeants aren't really happy if they have to do that. So contact your mother...she worries.
Our local Red Cross can be reached at 442-4291 or www.nwarkansas.redcross.org.
Posted by Rita at March 31, 2003 07:37 AM