Local National Guard Unit Prepares for Deployment; Red Cross Provides Information on Services Offered to Armed Forces
February 2, 2001
Contact: Janice Osborne, Manager-Media & Community Affairs
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262
Pennsylvania National Guard medics from the Allentown area will gather at their local armory this weekend (Feb. 3-4) for instruction, last-minute training and required briefings in preparation for a 15-day deployment to Honduras later this month.
The 18 men and women from C Company, 228th Support Battalion will be part of a military task force supporting a six-month civil engineering project in Honduras. U.S. soldiers will be building roads, clinics and schools under a longstanding program of humanitarian assistance throughout Central America. With the continued downsizing of the active-duty military, Guard units are increasingly involved in such missions overseas.
Allentown Police Chief Carl Held is First Sergeant in charge of training for Company C.
As part of the briefing, representatives from the Lehigh Valley Chapter, American Red Cross will explain the special American Red Cross services offered to military members and their families through its Armed Forces Emergency Services program.
"Community-based military members and their families are entitled to the same valuable Red Cross emergency services as full-time active duty personnel," said Cordelia Miller, director of Emergency Services and the Armed Forces Emergency Services program at the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. "When your doctor, your pharmacist, or your neighbor is mobilized or deployed with the Reserve or National Guard, the American Red Cross will be there to help them stay in touch with their families, get verification of emergency leave information, and help them to cope with separation and other special needs related to service in the armed forces.
"The American Red Cross has been keeping military families in touch since the Spanish-American War where the first Red Cross volunteers handled inquiries from families and provided communication services," said Miller. "The traditional military community has gone through significant changes over the past several years. With the downsizing of today's military and the fact that a large portion of its mission has been transferred to the Guard and Reserves, more than 50 percent of our military are now living right here in our communities."
The American Red Cross Armed Forces Emergency Services links military families separated by conflict and tours of duty, delivering more than 1.4 million emergency messages to military installations and family residences around the world each year.
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization, led by volunteers, that provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
The Lehigh Valley Chapter, American Red Cross serves more than 620,000 residents in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training and emergency relief services to nearly 15,500 Lehigh Valley residents.
For more information, visit www.redcrosslv.org or call (610) 865-4400.
