How to contact a Sailor in an Emergency!

[Hoppi aka Angie]

Please take a few minutes to review this info and post it some where you or a loved one can find if ever needed.


Emergency Communications Services

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 the emergency to service members stationed anywhere in the world, including on ships at sea and at embassies and remote 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.

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. Even if the service member receives an e-mail or phone call from home, Red Cross-verified information assists commanding officers with making a decision regarding emergency leave. Without this verification, the service member may not be able to come home during a family crisis.

How to Contact the Red Cross for Assistance

Call [phone] (toll-free) if you are an Active duty service member stationed in the United States, or a family member residing with them.

Contact your local Red Cross chapter, which is listed in local telephone directory and at Your Local Red Cross,if you are:

o Family members of active duty service members who do not reside in the service members' household,

o Family members of Department of Defense Civilians assigned overseas

o members of the National Guard and Reserves,

o recruiters, MEPS military personnel

o veterans and

o civilians ,.

Call overseas base or installation operators or the Red Cross office at your location if you are:

o Active-duty service members and family members residing with them or

o Department of Defense civilians stationed overseas and family members residing with them. .

When calling the Red Cross, please provide as much of the following information about the service member as is known:

Full name
Rank/rating
Branch of service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard)
Social Security Account number or date of birth
Military address
Information about the deployed unit and home base unit (for deployed service members only)

AMCROSS

[Jennifer]

We had to use the Red Cross Emergency number two days after my son graduated from boot in GL. My oldest son came up from Nashville to enjoy the graduation ceremony and the festivities of the weekend with his brother. Two days after we dropped Zach at Gate 5 in GL, Arron had a car accident and died.

You talk about panic,...anger,.....frustration,....confusion,....pain,.....grief,.....it's hard to keep your head screwed on straight. It was the most painful time of my life. We contacted the Red Cross with his SS# and were told it could take up to 24 hours. Of course I wanted him in my arms that second,...but the Red Cross can only work so fast.

They still couldn't find him after 24 hours. Zach's paperwork had been lost and even though we dropped him on the regular base at Gate 5 on Sunday eve they had moved him back to the boot camp side. No one seemed to know that he was there. They finally found him and sent him home immediately. He was allowed 7 days leave.

So make sure you have that Red Cross number at hand and also their SS#........blessings to all!

[KYMOM 01]

Hi, I for one have had to make that call to the red cross, more than once since my son has been serving our country. It is great to have this posted to where you can write it down and keep it. I have been in an emergency situation where I could not think for myself, thankfully I had a retired serviceman by my side that could handle things for me. He made the call that time, and the the Red Cross has been very helpful in all four of my situations to help us manage to get my son home. Thanks for posting the information. I for one will be writing it down to keep posted nearby, since my son is deployed again...

[Hobbit's Mom]

Recently we had an unexpected death in our family and our local Red Cross was beyond excellent in assisting us with getting our sailor home in time for the funeral. Our family is so very grateful for their assistance and plan to send a donation soon. I just wanted to share how awesome they are!!

[annieNC/NAS]

great post. thanx. I recently had a son in the ER in the states...and everything turned out fine...but the mental/emotional part of trying to find out where exactly he was, and his condition was wrenching. DEFINITELY A SITE TO KEEP ON HAND.

[Alec's Mom,Nadine]

I was unable to print this for some reason.

[Joyce (Marvin's mom)]

I am so glad to see this informatiom.
I just created an email and
sent it to my family members to use if I become
incapacitated; or in the event of an emergency!
My son is scheduled for April 9th deployment.

[Robin W]

While my son was home on leave he was in a very serious car accident. At the Trauma Center I grabbed a local phone book looked up the Red Cross and called the local office. While the staff there admitted that they had never had to contact the Navy before they took on the task immediately. Within two hours the Captain of my son's ship along with the ship's doctor were in contact with the hospital staff. The Navy sent personnel to the hospital the next day and provided me with all the contacts necessary to keep them informed as my son was too critical to move. All is well now and the Red Cross really delivered during my emergency.

For non-emergencies we all need to rely on e-mail or phone when available. Do not worry if you cannot contact your sailor or him you for a while. Depending on their assignments communications may or not be available.

Do get a military Power-of-Attorney from your sailor to handle emergencies for them when they cannot especially while they are deployed. It can help both them and you.

[maria]

Thankyou Hoppi,

i pray I never need to use this info , but it is a true help and thankyou so much .Maia

[Danielle LeBouef]

Thank you so much for posting this information. I had heard that contacting Red Cross was the route we had to take but did not know any specifics.

[Janice Mitchell]

I'm glad to hear that most of you are having good results using the Red Cross. They weren't very helpful when my father passed away and I was trying to notify my son and make arrangements for him to come home. The funeral plans were on hold for 3 days while I tried to find out if he could be home or not.

[Jocelyn,Kenneth's Mother]

Hoppi, and Kathy I really appreciate the info. My sailor joined right out of high school trying to be a responsible young adult in todays society, but Mr. independent (won't really ask for help & never gives a straight answer) and thinks he has all the answers. If I had to only rely on his input I wouldn't get the facts just what his shipmates answers might be... Also, kudos to Debbie for her question about the call her sailor received from the Red Cross that was disconnected. I believe my son possibly would have provided info instead of trying to contact home. I will be sure to relay all that i have learned. I haven't had to use the Red Cross before in good or bad times and I hope I never will. I will be calling my son right now. Thanks again for everyones support. May God Bless You.

[Dottie Bailey]

Thanks for this information, my son was supposed to give me this information. I hope nothing happens but just in case thanks.