The American Red Cross helps service members, veterans and their families prepare for, cope with, and respond to the challenges of military service at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.

Volunteers provide home comforts and critical services on bases and in military hospitals around the world. We also support military families during deployments and emergencies, and continue serving our nation's veterans after their service ends.

Every day, the American Red Cross provides 24/7 global emergency communication services and support in military and veteran health care facilities across the country and around the world. We understand that part of a service member's resiliency during deployments and while they are away from home, is knowing there is a way to contact and be contacted by their loved ones in an emergency situation.

Recently, a service member stopped by our Red Cross office at Camp Lemonnier in search of a good Wi-Fi signal. His wife was in labor and he needed a quiet place to video chat with her, and virtually be there for the birth of their child. Our volunteers offered him a quiet office so he could have uninterrupted time with his wife. Typically, our office closes at 10:30 p.m., but as closing time got near, our volunteer decided to stay later to make sure the service member didn't have to leave before his child was born. It is difficult to be so far from home during such important moments in your life and the American Red Cross is happy to be there to help when we can. By providing such services, the emotional well-being of the service member was preserved during a time of separation due to deployment.

Even more recently, we had a service member who was medically evacuated from his ship to Camp Lemonnier for two weeks. Due to his quick evacuation from the ship, he only had his uniform and physical training (PT) gear to wear. Upon his arrival, the American Red Cross provided him a Wounded Warrior Project transitional care package -- which included a change of clothes, toiletries and a deck of cards. After a few days, the service member was allowed to leave the ward and made his way over to the Red Cross office. He was very excited to have the chance to relax in a space that had Wi-Fi, snacks and good movie selection. This was the first time he had continuous connectivity to the internet and was able to video chat with his wife and children for extended periods of time.

It was so wonderful to see how much of an impact little things like Wi-Fi and a quiet place to watch a movie or talk to loved ones can have on someone's mental health and overall resiliency.

The American Red Cross also believes it is important to prepare family members to deal with the challenges of serving at home while their loved one is deployed.

We have created a course you can take in person or online -- Coping with Deployments: Psychological First Aid for Military Families. This course was developed out of the American Red Cross' continuing commitment to serving military families wherever they reside. It provides useful information on how to strengthen your ability to respond to the challenges you may encounter throughout the deployment cycle. It was designed specifically for the spouses, parents, older children, siblings and significant others of service members, as well as for military members who may take the course with their family. Veterans and their family members are also eligible.

This excellent course offers guidelines for increasing resiliency in ourselves and our children, and also provides information on how to provide psychological first aid to others experiencing stressful feelings or events. It can also serve as a useful link to connect you with other military families in your community.
Whether you are in need of an emergency message, skills to help you cope with your deployment or something as simple as a snack or Wi-Fi, the American Red Cross is here for you.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more news from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, visit http://www.navy.mil/.