Armed Forces Emergency Services

The Washington County Red Cross provides reporting and communication services through a network linking members of the Armed Services anywhere in the world with their loved ones back home. Your local chapter is available 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year for emergency communications reaching all military installations here and abroad, ships at sea, reserve units and Coast Guard, embassies and isolated military units. We are here to help families stay in touch with loved ones, relay emergency messages and assist families with the pain of separation. The Washington County Red Cross Chapter may be contacted at 740-373-0281 anytime day or night. American Red Cross communication services keep military personnel in touch with their families following the death or serious illness of a family member or other important events, such as the birth of a child. The Red Cross quickly sends these communications on behalf of the family to members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Red Cross is able to send messages for:

• Active duty members (Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, & Coast Guard)
• Reservists or National Guard members
• Commissioned Corps of US Public Health Service
• Civilians employed by Department of Defense (stationed outside the U.S.
• Merchant Marines (when activated)
• Red Cross personnel
• Enrollees of the Job Corps
• National Civilian Community Corps members
• Immediate family members of the military, reservists/National Guard (to include father/mother, sister/brother, spouse, son/daughter, grandparent or person standing in loco parentis) Fiance(e) of service member

How to access Red Cross services:

• Active duty service members stationed in the United States and family members residing in the service member's household (example: service member's spouse) should contact Armed Forces Emergency Service Centers for information and assistance 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The toll-free telephone number may be obtained from military installation operators, from local on-base Red Cross offices and from the local Red Cross chapter.
• All family members who do not reside in the service member's household, regardless of where the service member is assigned - at a local military installation or another geographical location - should contact their local American Red Cross chapter for assistance. Washington County Chapter is listed in your local telephone directory under American Red Cross and Red Cross and online at www.redcross.org, under "Find Your Local Red Cross."
• Members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families should contact their local Red Cross chapter, listed in local telephone directory under American Red Cross and Red Cross and at www.redcross.org, under "Find Your Local Red Cross."
• Active duty service members on overseas military installations may access Red Cross reporting and communication assistance by contacting base/installation operators for the listing of the on-base Red Cross office or information on how to access Red Cross assistance if there is not a representative on the local installation.
• Families living overseas may access assistance through the local on-base Red Cross office or through the base/installation operator for information if there is not a Red Cross representative on the local installation.
• In overseas deployment areas, service members should contact the American Red Cross office responsible for their jurisdiction/installation.

The Red Cross works with the military aid societies (Army Emergency Relief, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, Air Force Aid Society and the Coast Guard Mutual Assistance). This partnership helps to provide financial assistance for emergency travel that requires the presence of the service member or his or her family, burial of a loved one, or with assistance that cannot wait until the next business day (food, temporary lodging, urgent medical needs, or the minimum amount required to avoid eviction, utility shut off, etc.).

Note, when applying for financial assistance the same procedures are followed; however, applications are reviewed by the respective military aid societies and are approved by the respective aid society. For the families left behind, the Red Cross provides a referral service and may assist with emergency financial assistance based on hardships due to deployment. It continues to meet the needs of military families in Washington County by collecting items for Family Care packages to be distributed to the families in the Washington County area. The items that we are collecting for the family care packages are:

• Grocery Store certificates in increments of $10, $20, $50
• Gas Station gift cards
• Stamps
• Pre-paid phone cards in increments of $10 which must have international access

These are items the Chapter can distribute to families immediately. Please call 740-373-0281 for information about collecting these items and how to deliver them to the Red Cross. Your financial support helps the local Red Cross provide services and materials to military personnel and their families. The Chapter can accept contributions to the AFES fund by check, Visa or MasterCard. For further information, call the Chapter at 740-373-0281 during working hours, Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 4:30pm. Checks can be made out and mailed to the Washington County Red Cross, 401 Fourth Street, Marietta, OH 45750 and noted "AFES Support" (Armed Forces Emergency Services).

The Red Cross is not a government agency and the Washington County Chapter receives no funding from the government. The assistance we provide is FREE made possible by voluntary gifts of time and money from the community.