Talking Service to the Armed Forces and International Services with Joshua Bryant

by Lindsey Viotto, intern contributor

After celebrating July 4, we wanted to highlight two of our core services – Armed Forces Emergency Services and International Services. Our own Joshua Bryant, Service to the Armed Forces & International Services Field Specialist, takes us through his position in the Red Cross and stresses the powerful role these programs play on a global scale. 

Armed Forces Emergency Services provides reporting and communication services through the Red Cross’s global communication and support network that links members of the military any place in the world with their loved ones. 

“At its basic level, if a family needs to get in contact with a service member while they are with their unit – whether across the street, on a boat in the middle of the ocean, or at a base across the world – the Red Cross can send a message and notify them of what happened,” Bryant said. “If the service member needs to get back home, we will also make sure to get them where they need to be.” 

Bryant devotes a lot of time to the Armed Forces Emergency Services, but an equal amount of time is spent helping others through International Services. One unique function this service includes is reconnecting families during times of crisis. 

“Recently I had a family that came to the United States under refugee status, but one of their children were left in the refugee camp in Kenya,” Bryant said. “There was no link of communication for the boy and that is where the Red Cross comes in. I am able to deliver messages from the parents to the boy and let them know everyone is doing okay. This is really powerful and a service that has to offered.”

The chaos and confusion of war and disaster can separate families when they need each other most. When this happens, the Red Cross joins the search across international borders, offering a unique service that reconnects families. In addition, Red Cross chapters help both adults and youth understand international humanitarian law and its relevance to our daily lives and issues we face as a country. Also, the Red Cross responds to disasters across the street, across the country and around the world. When disasters hit internationally, chapters provide technical support, relief supplies, and financial assistance to ensure rapid response and recovery.

Bryant believes these core services offered by the American Red Cross are essential to helping families keep in contact during crisis, and he is hopeful to expand these services to others in the future to reach even more families and servicemen in need. 

To learn more about Service to the Armed Forces & International Services, visit RedCross.org.

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Three Things We Can do on Veteran's Day

When I woke up on this Veteran's Day morning in the year 2010, I did what most of us do. I checked my Facebook page. One of my friends had posted this as her status:

"A veteran is someone, who at one point in their life, wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for an amount up to, and including, their life. That is beyond honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer remember that fact. Copy and paste this as your status if you are a Veteran, know a Veteran, Love a Veteran, or support the Troops."

Our Veteran's, and those currently serving, truly are heroes and it's an honor to be able to support them through our work at the American Red Cross. Maybe you're not familiar with how we support the troops every day so let me give you just a few highlights of our program called Service to Armed Forces:

• The Red Cross helps some 2.6 million members of the military and their families every year.
• We send and receive emergency messages around the world 24/7. For a service member who has left cell phones and Blackberries behind, this service is the connection back to his/her family at home and it's priceless in delivering peace of mind.
• We brief nearly one million deploying service members and their families about how to access Red Cross services when separated.

Those are just the highlights. We do so much more including financial assistance, running a Fallen Solider program like we do here in Dallas, and creating opportunities for you to show your support through programs like Holiday Mail for Heroes. So, I decided to do three things today in honor of Veteran's Day and I'm asking you to join me.

First, I will take a moment of silence to say a very grateful thanks to all of our Veteran's and to those currently serving. Next, I will select a holiday card created by Amy Grant, Dr. Phil, Miley Cyrus or Jane Seymour that will be sent to one of our military members currently serving and lastly, I will make a $25 gift to the Red Cross to go along with that card. It's the least we can do and it's quick and easy to help. Just click here. http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hmfh_card_gallery&JServSessionIdr004=natkjvom01.app297a

Since I started writing this blog, a Twitter follower posted this as his status: "If you live in freedom, thank a Veteran". On behalf of all of us at the American Red Cross, we do thank you Veteran's. Enjoy your special day.

--Anita Foster, American Red Cross, Dallas, Texas

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