Service to the Armed Forces: Helping Military Members, Veterans, and their Families

Written by: Stephanie Babyak, Communications Volunteer

SAF Regional Specialist, Tommy Bolin  

Senior SAF Regional Specialist Tommy Bolin spends his work day helping military members, veterans, and their families. One vet struggles with PTSD, a wife needs to reach her husband posted overseas to let him know of a death in the family, another needs housing. However, in late Fall 2020, a most unique case landed on his desk, a mystery involving a World War II Navy war hero and an all-out effort to reunite his family with his personal effects. 

Two years ago, Chris Reilly’s daughter, an officer in the U.S. Army, completed a tour of duty at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State and moved home to her parents while she attended graduate school. The moving van shipping her belongings and those of other soldiers traveled the country from the West Coast to the final destination of the Reilly home in Delaware, making stops along the way. At the Reilly's, everything remaining in the truck was unloaded. 

As Chris and his daughter culled through the piles of boxes, they uncovered a large, leather briefcase that neither of them recognized. Inside the unlocked briefcase were letters the Navy vet had written to his finance, along with his passport, driver's license, and military medals and citations, including a Silver Star Medal, the U.S. Armed Forces decoration for valor in combat.

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“If you read those letters, you’re reliving history and understanding what it was like to be in World War II because, as you know, most of the World War II vets are no longer with us.”

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Army veteran Chris Reilly 

Determined to return the Navy hero’s personal effects to his family, Chris contacted agency after agency – the moving company, insurance company, Navy Personnel Command, Veterans of Foreign War, the Veterans Administration – all with no luck. Because Chris was not family and lacked legal authorization, privacy laws prevented the agencies from sharing information. Then someone suggested Chris contact the American Red Cross.

“I called the 1-800 RED CROSS number, they assigned me a case number, and said someone would contact me," said Chris. 

The briefcase contained the Navy hero's personal effects,
including a Silver Star medal and letters to his fiancé.

Based in Wilmington, Tommy Bolin was first assigned the case. Then, the San Diego Red Cross office also got involved as the WWII vet, who died in 1993, was from San Diego. Working with the Red Cross and a genealogist, Chris finally connected with the Navy veteran’s nephew who accepted the briefcase, letters, and medals.

This story is an example of the many ways the American Red Cross helps military members, veterans and their families prepare for, cope with, and respond to, the challenges of military service. 

Since 9/11, the Red Cross has served more than 1 million military families. Service to the Armed Forces volunteers provide home comforts and critical services on bases and in military hospitals around the world. We support military families during deployments and emergencies and we continue serving our nation’s veterans after their service ends. 

NC&GCR Red Crossers distributed stockings from Operation Quiet
Comfort and the Red Cross at a holiday event at Walter Reed
National Military Medical Center.

The Service to the Armed Forces program in the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region (NC&GCR) supports military personnel, veterans, and families on 27 separate military installations in the region, at five Veteran’s Administration Hospitals, and throughout the community. Key installations supported include: Fort Meade, Quantico Marine Corps Base, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Fort Belvoir, Joint Base Andrews, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, the US Naval Academy, and the Pentagon. 

There is a team of over 1,000 active volunteers supporting the SAF mission throughout the region. 

Volunteers range from civilian to active duty, from administrative through PhD, RN and MD who practice to the full extent of their credentials. During the summer months, we add a robust program of youth volunteers with our VolunTeen programs. 

Here are some of the key ways the American Red Cross helps military and their families: 

• 

  Last fall, volunteers delivered Girl Scout
  cookies, stress balls comfort kits, and
  e-cards  to raise morale and support our
  military partner and veteran communities.

  Financial Assistance: The Red Cross partners with the military aid societies to help service members and their families get emergency financial assistance 24/7. 
• Information and Referral Services: The Red Cross provides counseling, guidance, information, referrals and other social services for all military personnel and their families. 
• Deployment Services: Before, during, and after deployments, the Red Cross provides training information, and support for military members and their families. 
• Resiliency/Reconnection Workshops: The American Red Cross has developed the Reconnection Workshops for all military families to assist them with managing the challenges of reintegration, and to
  help them build resiliency skills that make it easier to rebound from setbacks and difficulties. Click here to learn more.
• Holidays for Heroes: Holidays for Heroes offers individuals, corporations and community entities (church/temple groups, schools, community centers, etc.) the opportunity to support the unique work that the American Red Cross in the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region is doing for the local military and veteran community. Click here to learn more.

The American Red Cross has also launched a new online, self-service tool called the Hero Care Network. This free tool gives military families more flexibility and expanded access to help during times of crisis by allowing them to quickly communicate emergency messages 24/7 via computer, tablet, or even by smartphone. 

To download the free Hero Care App to get access vital emergency and non-emergency resources for military members, veterans and military families.  Or text: "GETHEROCARE" to 90999 

 

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You can join us too!

• To learn more about the Service to the Armed Forces programs, click here. 
• Make a difference in your community. Click here to become a Red Cross volunteer. 
• Click here to learn more about donating blood with the American Red Cross near you. 

Red Cross Holds Virtual Resiliency Workshops for Military Members and Families

 By Laura Cantagallo, American Red Cross Volunteer

A substantial part of the Red Cross mission is its service to the armed forces and all who affiliate with them, such as spouses, families, and loved ones. It can be difficult when a family member is deployed overseas, leaving his or her significant others back at home fighting their own battles. 

As a way to support these military families and affiliated members, the Red Cross is holding virtual resiliency and stress management workshops via Zoom. I sat it on the one from Friday, July 24, which was led by Dr. Carol Deel, a licensed mental health provider with her own full-time private practice in Maryland, and Lynn Hottle, a Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) reconnection facilitator and part of the regional Disaster Mental Health team. 

“We are very serious about our commitment to serving the armed forces; this is how Clara Barton started it,” said Hottle. 

Hottle and Deel met with a small group of military members over Zoom to discuss their personal experiences with stress and anxiety and how they cope, converse about how stress can impact us, and, throughout the second half of the workshop, give participants techniques to help dissolve stress at its root. 

"We just really want to share with you all some tools and information for some of the things going on in today’s world,” said Hottle.

The facilitators began with an open discussion about stress and how it reaches each individual on a personal and unique level. Hottle and Deel educated participants on how stress can impact us on many levels. 

This includes:

• Bodily – heavy breathing, increased heart rate, stomach pain
• Behaviorally – argumentative, increased/decreased appetite, difficulty sleeping
• Emotionally – anger, sadness, mood swings

Later on, participants were given a list of ways to cope, reduce, and manage the stressors they experience, like cooking, organizing, reading a book, listening to music, and much more – the list of stress-reducers went on in abundance.

Deel and Hottle later switched the focus over to relaxation and stress-reducing techniques. The first was deep breathing: force out as much air as possible and then breathe back in deeply. 

“Breathe at a rate that’s comfortable for you,” said Deel as she walked participants through the technique.

Another similar breathing exercise was a hand tracing technique that synchronized tracing the outline of your hand as you breathe in and out.

A third method for reducing stress included using senses to help bring about calmness. This means observing things around you using the five senses – this can help individuals stay grounded and notice their surroundings when trying to fall asleep or self-soothe. Throughout these exercises and tips, Deel and Hottle invited participants to discuss how the exercises changed their stress levels.

As the workshop came to a close, the meeting leaders continued to talk about stress, how it impacts us, and how we can cope with it in positive and healthy ways, as well as helpful sleeping tips to ensure a good night’s rest. This workshop is especially crucial due to the uncertainty and anxiousness that can be brought about with the effects of COVID-19. Facilitators ended the meeting with a self-reflection from each individual, and also a “power of gratitude” activity: participants were asked to share three good things they experienced that day and one thing each of them were looking forward to for the following day. 

Now, more than ever, we must show compassion and understanding to those we care about. None of us sincerely know what the future holds, but with help and support offered by the Red Cross, we can make try to bring some sense of normalcy during these challenging times.

“There are so many things that we cannot do or are restricted to, and lots of losses in our lives,” Hottle adds, “Try to reframe the negative things that are happening in our lives and put a positive spin on it.” 

If you or a loved one is suffering and needs assistance, you can call the crisis hotline at 1-800-273-8255, which is available 24 hours a day, in both English and Spanish languages.

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To learn more and sign up for the SAF Virtual COVID Stress-Management Workshops, click here: https://www.redcross.org/local/dc-va-md-de/about-us/our-work/virtual-covid-stress-management-workshops.html (More dates to be added soon!)

To learn more about Disaster Mental Health volunteer opportunities, visit https://www.redcross.org/volunteer/volunteer-opportunities/disaster-health-mental-health-volunteer.html

Red Cross Recruits New Volunteers Through Virtual Open House

By Laura Cantagallo, American Red Cross Volunteer

With COVID-19 bringing an end to in-person meetings, the American Red Cross has adopted virtual communication platforms to recruit new volunteers for their five lines of services: Disaster, Blood Services, Training Services (health and safety), International, and Service to the Armed Forces (SAF). Red Cross volunteers make-up 90% of the Red Cross workforce and respond to more than 60,000 disasters a year – they are the backbone of this humanitarian organization.

The American Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region conducted a virtual open house on Microsoft Teams on Tuesday, July 14, led by the Red Cross Volunteer Services recruitment team made up of Kristi Giles, Nanveet Prasad, and Sheleasa Omogbai – all who represent different parts of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware – and included several esteemed guest speakers. Prospective volunteers were given a virtual guided tour of the Red Cross and its history, principles and unique mission, and a look at the all-encompassing list of volunteer opportunities offered to those seeking a way to give back to their communities. 

Pictured clockwise from top:
Shawn Felder, Kristi Giles, and Sheleasa Omogbai 

Some of the volunteers the team is currently recruiting for include volunteers for Disaster Services, Blood Services, and Service to the Armed Forces.

Disaster volunteers can explore several roles: preparedness team members educate communities on self-reliance and personal resilience in the face of disaster, how to respond efficiently, and how to cope after the disaster has occurred. Recovery team members help those affected by disasters begin the road to recovery with initial assistance (food, clothing, shelter), casework, and identification of local, state, and even federal resources for which they may be eligible. 

Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. The Red Cross is committed to providing our nation with a safe and plentiful blood supply, putting blood services volunteers at the very core of the Red Cross operation, especially during this global health crisis. 

This unit is made up of over 25,000 volunteers and all blood is currently being tested for COVID-19 antibodies, and convalescent plasma products are also being collected and distributed treat seriously ill COVID-19 patients. Blood Services is looking for Blood Donor Screeners, Ambassadors, and Transportation Specialists at all of the nine blood donation centers in our region, including locations in Washington, D.C., Rockville, Lutherville, Frederick, and Baltimore, Maryland, and Fairfax, Virginia. You can see where they are all here.

There are even opportunities for younger volunteers! The event-based volunteer position for the Blood Donor Screener is open to those 15 and older who seek to contribute to a blood drive by temperature screening donors. Volunteers can sign up for 4-5 hour shifts anywhere across the region.

The American Red Cross was born on the battlefield. Our founder, Clara Barton, first delivered aid and comfort to Union soldiers during the Civil War. Today, the Red Cross continues this proud tradition through the SAF program that comprises several different volunteer opportunities to support those serving our country and their families. There are over 1,000 SAF volunteers spread throughout medical hospitals around the region, as well as volunteers at the Pentagon and Naval Academy. SAF caseworkers provide virtual assistance to help meet military family’s needs when someone is deployed, or when they are experiencing hardship. Caseworkers make initial contact to assess needs, follow up calls, and provide other services to make sure these families are receiving the essential aid they need. 

So, how has an almost completely hands-on volunteer program changed and adapted in 2020 due to the Coronavirus? 

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“COVID doesn’t stop us, it only changes how we do it,”

- Shawn Felder, Red Cross Disaster Program Manager

___________________________________________________________________________

The recruitment team touched on this in the meeting, explaining all the precautions and safety measures that are being taken to ensure the safety of the people we serve in the community and volunteers, all while still being able to give a hand and help those who desperately need Red Cross services. 

“Trainings are all virtual online; some are self-paced modules that you work through and complete,” says Kristi Giles, Senior Recruitment Specialist for the Central Maryland Chapter regarding how volunteers are given training for their duties. 

Red Cross relief also includes financial assistance and mental and spiritual health assistance, provided by volunteers virtually and by phone, done by our Disaster Action Team (DAT). Red Cross members have been reaching those affected by disaster via email, video, and text, practicing social distancing, encouraging touchless distribution of client assistance cards, and wearing masks and gloves.

Disaster Action Teams continue to serve disaster-affected communities and offer help around the clock to clients. 

Another virtual need the Red Cross is currently looking for is recruitment team members. This includes recruiting volunteers for our five lines of service and promoting volunteer opportunities on social media platforms – all virtually.

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“We can’t do our job without the help of our volunteers;
they’re the most valuable part of our job.”

- Nanveet Prasad, Recruitment Specialist for the Red Cross 

_________________________________________________________________________

Giles adds, “We hope that people feel that it’s a rewarding experience and we hope our volunteers understand the impact they’re making in people’s lives.”

If you’re ready to join us and become a Red Cross volunteer, an upcoming virtual open house is scheduled for August 20, 2020 from 10:00-11:00 AM on Microsoft Teams. 

Prospective volunteers can also apply online at www.redcross.org/volunteer and take a quiz to see what opportunities are available, and which would best fit their skill-set and hours of availability. 

Happy Armed Forces Day! 🎖️

By Carly Flumer, Volunteer

The Red Cross salutes our men and women of the Armed Forces today and every day, and especially on May 18th – Armed Forces Day. Many nations around the world observe some kind of Armed Forces Day to honor their military forces. It is celebrated in the United States as a day to appreciate all active duty service members. 

Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. This year, it is celebrated on Saturday, May 18. Thanks to President Harry S. Truman, it’s a day to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces. President Truman led the effort to establish a holiday in order for citizens to unite and to honor our military heroes for their patriotic service in support of the United States. It also happens to coincide with this month being recognized as Military Appreciation Month.

The Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program dates back to the establishment of the American Red Cross by Clara Barton in May 1881. Not only did the “Angel of the Battlefield” risk her life tending to soldiers wounded in the Civil War, she bolstered their morale by writing letters for them to send to their families. Today’s American Red Cross workers proudly carry on this tradition through the SAF program, which serves as a critical line of communication between the U.S Armed Forces and their families.

Since 9/11/2001, the Red Cross has provided services to more than 1 million soldiers and their families through deployments and emergencies, including critical cases on military bases throughout the world.

The SAF program in the National Capital Region supports military personnel, veterans, and families on 14 separate military installations in the Washington, DC region, at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, and throughout the community. Key installations supported include: Quantico MCB, Walter Reed NMMC, Fort Belvoir, JB Andrews, JB Myer-Henderson Hall, JB Anacostia-Bolling, and the Pentagon.

As the largest Red Cross volunteer area in the National Capital Region, there is a team of nearly 1,000 active volunteers supporting the SAF mission throughout the region. Volunteers range from civilian to active duty, from administrative up to PhD and MD who practice to the full extent of their credentials and support activities across the region to include greeting every wounded, ill and injured service member who arrives via MEDEVAC.

Here are some of the services we provide:

DEPLOYMENT:

• The Red Cross understands how hard it is for families to let go of a loved one for an extended period of time, whether it be for the first time or the 10th time. 
• We provide a course called “Coping with Deployments: Psychological First Aid for Military Families” that provides information for parents, siblings, spouses, and children on how to respond to psychological and emotional challenges faced while going through deployment. A family can take this class either in person or online. 
• Call your local Red Cross to find out more information on registering or visit: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/deployment-services.html  

POST-DEPLOYMENT

• While returning home can be a very exciting time for both the soldier and their family, it can also be stressful as they learn to reconnect with one another, as roles and responsibilities may have been shifted and emotions are still very raw. 
• The Red Cross offers free, small-group Reconnection Workshops for all family members, including teens and young children, that focus on identifying stress, trauma, and depression, as well as coping mechanisms as family members looking to reconnect. 
• To sign up for a workshop, visit https://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/deployment-services/register-reconnection-workshops.html

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

• The Red Cross offers financial assistance around the clock, 24 hours day, 365 days a year to active duty service members and members of an activated National Guard or reserve unit (as well as their immediate family members), and to military retirees and/or their spouses.
• Assistance can include funds for burial services and emergency travel, shelter, and food
• Call the Red Cross Hero Center at 1.877.272.7337 or submit a request online at https://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/financial-assistance.html 

HERO CARE NETWORK

• Through the Hero Care Network, you can submit emergency communications requests online or via mobile device 24/7
• When a military family experiences a crisis, the Red Cross is there to help. More than 110,000 military families reach out to the American Red Cross for emergency assistance each year. That’s approximately 300 military families per day. That’s why the American Red Cross launched our new online, self-service tool called the Hero Care Network. 
• This FREE tool gives military families more flexibility and expanded access to help during times of crisis by allowing them to quickly communicate emergency messages 24/7 via computer, tablet, or even by smartphone.
• Visit www.redcross.org/HeroCareNetwork for more information or to submit a request.

For more information on our Service to the Armed Forces program, click here!

And thank you to all the men and women who serve, and have served, our country! 🎖️

My Red Cross Story: Ken Jones

By Ian Levine, Volunteer

I shouldn’t be telling you this. But in the late 1980s, I lived a life punctuated by the staccato of flying bullets and shrapnel. I used to be Frank Woods, Master Sergeant of the United States Marine Corps. My mission was simple: kill Raul Menendez. Raul was the leader of a terrorist network hell-bent on wiping out 99% of the world's population.

That’s the plot to one of the most popular video games of all time, named Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Retired Army Specialist Tim Senkowski immersed himself in it as a sort of therapy. Tim (and soldiers like him) valued their video games so much that after getting wounded, their first question would be, “Do I still have my hands?” And their second question would be whether their reproductive systems were still intact. So, when Tim gnarled his dominant hand and lost both of his legs, he didn’t know what to do. His mother took him to a Super bowl party, where he met American Red Cross volunteer, Ken Jones.

Ken was an engineer who specialized in adaptive technology for the military. As a teen, he tinkered with radar jammers. But he evolved to customized weaponry for the United States Department of Defense. Although Ken had grown up around the military, he hadn't spoken with a soldier like Tim. Little did Ken know, their talk would alter the status quo for injured soldiers worldwide.

Months earlier, Tim's squadron was dwindling, so it partnered with a special forces group. While the soldiers were advancing, Tim stepped on a landmine. It blew off his legs above the knees, marred his hand, and scarred his back. He returned stateside not being able to do the one thing he needed to do the most. Tim laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. And he would think about his missing limbs instead of capturing Menendez.

It sickened Ken how injured soldiers weren't treated right. He said, "They should be getting $27 million to stay at home with a hangnail like baseball players." He even stopped watching sports because of the disconnect. Ken said, "We need to find a way to keep these war fighters engaged."

After meeting Tim, Ken bought a video game controller and took it apart. He figured out how to customize it for injured soldiers. His mission to help people like Tim led to founding the nonprofit Warfighter Engaged. Warfighter Engaged is a volunteer organization which customizes free devices that improve disabled soldiers' lives.

Devices such as the controller built for John Peck, a disabled Army Marine Sergeant. Sergeant Peck was missing his hands and feet, but he yearned to enjoy his PlayStation 3 again. Ken created a controller for Sergeant Peck, which he used until the day of his limb transplant. Then, Warfighter Engaged took off.

Warfighter Engaged entered a contest run by Microsoft. They called the contest a 'hackathon', a portmanteau of hacking and marathon. Microsoft would offer financial backing as an award for the best idea. Warfighter Engaged won with its universal controller. (Up until that point, there was no such thing as a one-size-fits-all controller because everyone’s injuries were different). The controller offered many ports, each one able to connect to different adaptive technologies.

Ken's involvement with Red Cross changed the way disabled gamers played. Warfighter Engaged and Red Cross are aligned in its missions to help members of the military and their families deal with the challenges of service. Now, because of Red Cross and its volunteers, disabled gamers are leveling up.

There are over one billion disabled people on Earth; or, a little less than the entire population of China. If you'd like to help Warfighter Engaged continue its mission, please click here. The American Red Cross provides global humanitarian efforts, and 90% of it comes from volunteers like Ken... and you. If you'd like to learn more about how you can help, please click here.

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I dedicate this article to my best friend, Army Chaplain Captain Heather Borshof. Captain Borshof has devoted her life to serving soldiers like Tim. Thank you for your service.

National Military Appreciation Month: Deployment Services

Written by: Carly Flumer, Volunteer

As May is National Military Appreciation Month, we will focus a series of blogs on our Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program.

Imagine being away from your family for months, or even years, only to come back and not recognize anything. You feel lost in a place which was all too familiar not long ago. What kinds of thoughts would be running through your mind? What kinds of feelings would you want to express? The American Red Cross recognizes that coming home from deployment is one of the most difficult transitions one can make, and we look to make it easier by providing Reconnection Workshops to military members and their families.

These workshops are not only free and confidential, but they build and enhance lasting, positive relationships with those in the community. We realize that some may be scared to share their experiences, while others may be more outspoken; therefore, discussions can be held one-on-one or in groups, depending on preference. All members of every branch of the Armed Forces are welcome to participate, including those in the Reserve, National Guard, active duty members, veterans, and their families.

Adults may choose from five different topics, including:

• Enhancing skills to develop clear communication
• Recognizing and discussing stress, trauma, and other war-related concerns
• Managing signs and symptoms of depression and learning when to seek help
• Reconnecting with children by exploring family dynamics and deployment issues
•  Exploring anger and other intense emotions in different situations

Children and teens may choose from two different topics, including:

• The Roger That! Communication workshop, which focuses on developing and refining listening and communication skills
• The Operation 10-4: Confident Coping workshop, which focuses on recognizing and enhancing strengths to help manage distressing situations

To register for a workshop, go to: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/deployment-services/register-reconnection-workshops.

National Military Appreciation Month: Hero Care Network

Written by: Carly Flumer, Volunteer

As May is National Military Appreciation Month, we will focus a series of blogs on our Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program.

May is Military Appreciation Month and the Red Cross supports our troops through a uniquely-developed tool called the Hero Care Network. We recognize that there may be times when emergencies occur. Using this free tool, military families are able to reach out to their loved ones 24/7, providing them extensive access to any location. Every day, more than 300 military families request assistance through the Hero Care Network by either using our online self-service tool via computer, tablet, or cell phone, or by calling a Communication Specialist. 

In order to be eligible for assistance, one must be:

• An active duty member of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard
• An active member of the Guard and Reserve of all military branches
• A civilian employed by or under contract to the Dept. of Defense and stationed outside the continental United States
• A cadet or midshipman at a service academy; ROTC cadet on orders for training
• A Merchant Marine aboard a U.S. Naval Ship

You can initiate a request for Red Cross emergency assistance for members of the military currently serving on active duty by using the online self-service tool. Using a computer, smart phone or tablet, you can start a request for services and track its progress from anywhere in the world.

Please make sure to have the following available when making your request:

• Full legal name
• Rank/Rating
• Branch of Service
• Social Security Number or Date of Birth
• Military Unit Address
• For deployed service members: information about the deployed unit and home base unit
• Name and contact of the immediate family member experiencing the emergency
• Nature of the emergency
• Where the emergency can be confirmed, such as a hospital, funeral home, etc.

To request assistance online, visit: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/emergency-communication, download the free Hero Care App, or text "GETHEROCARE" to 90999.

To request assistance via phone, call: 1-877-272-7337.

National Military Appreciation Month: Red Cross Reconnection Workshops

Written by: Kristen Shaw, Volunteer

As May is National Military Appreciation Month, we will focus a series of blogs on our Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program.

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks,” said author James Allen.

This could not be truer of helping our United States service members and their families returning to everyday life after a deployment or their military service has come to an end. No two deployments are alike; time lengths vary, new experiences have been had, and loved ones both home and away have had to miss out on important events or milestones. Often upon returning or re-integrating into society, military men and women struggle with feeling isolated and unable to communicate what they experienced while deployed.

The Red Cross recognizes the notable sacrifices made by our nation’s Military and their loved ones, and so the need for accessible and readily available resources to aid those trying to readjust to their old lives. To aid the needs of all those impacted by a military deployment or service, ‘Reconnection Workshops’ are offered by the Red Cross to ease the process of transitioning back into civilian life – including all branches of the Armed Forces, Reserve, National Guard, active duty service members, veterans and their families. Spouses, parents, children, siblings, significant others, and close friends are also welcome to attend. These free sessions are confidential, small groups of at least three individuals, led by mental health professionals and focusing on positive reconnections, tools, strengths, and coping strategies for reengaging in civilian life.

Sometimes physical or emotional hardships in the form of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), and depression can present new or more difficult challenges. The Red Cross knows this, too, and attempts to craft some of their modules around the sensitivities that may arise from those specific problems.

‘Reconnection Workshops’ are one of seven programs underneath the Red Cross’ Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) Program and can be dated all the way back to May of 1881, when Clara Barton established the American Branch of the Red Cross.

Another program offered is ‘Mind-Body Workshops’, focused on improving wellness and managing stress using the mind, body and spirit. Through the workshops, the Red Cross teaches easy-to-use skills that connect the body with the mind to help participants cope with stress and trauma.

Children especially can be strongly affected by the stresses and adjustments that accompany a family member’s deployment, and two newer workshops called ‘Roger That! Communication Counts’, and ‘Operation 10-4 Confident Coping’ have also been created to focus on learning the effective ways of problem solving and communication for both younger and older children in the unique situations they face post-deployment.

Clara Barton, who nursed soldiers on the battlefield, stated that “If I can’t be a soldier, I’ll help soldiers.” And that is what these workshops aim to do.

If you or a family member are interested in finding a participating workshop location in the National Capital Region, or in registering, you can find more information here: http://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/deployment-services

Our Red Cross Volunteer Story: Clown Judy and Clown Gary

Our Red Cross Volunteer Story: Clown Judy and Clown Gary

Written by: Rose Ellen O’Connor, volunteer

Judy Gleklen Kopff stood outside the Fisher House at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Christmas Eve 2004 and cried. She and her husband, Gary, were scheduled to entertain wounded warriors and their children in the Fisher House dining room. She’d been volunteering as a clown since 1996, but this was her first experience entertaining the wounded, and she was scared. She didn’t know how she’d deal with double and triple amputees.

She rang the doorbell, and as soon as she and Gary entered, a three-year-old boy jumped off his father’s lap and ran to her, crying, “Daddy! Daddy! It’s a clown!” He latched onto her leg and wouldn’t let go.

“I dried my tears as unobtrusively as possible and started making balloon animals for children who were creating an ever-expanding line leading to my husband and me,” Judy recalls. “At that moment, their parents were not patients missing arms or legs or eyes. They were parents enjoying the smiles and squeals of laughter of their children on Christmas Eve. We call ourselves Giggle Therapists.”

“Clown Judy,” now 71, and “Clown Gary,” now 72, learned in December 2004 about the Red Cross program at Walter Reed, underwent training and have been Red Cross volunteers ever since. They entertained at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC until it closed in 2011 and then switched to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.

Judy spent her Federal government career as a civilian working at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  After taking an early retirement at the age of 49 in 1996, she went back to work for the Secretary in 2003 to work on issues related to Iraq and Afghanistan.  Her final position as a chief of staff in an office dealing with battlefield contractors ended in 2008. Her intense, high profile jobs didn’t dampen her love of lightheartedness. It was at an office Christmas party in 2004 that she made her connection to Fisher House. Standing next to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s wife, Judy mentioned that she volunteered as a clown but didn’t have any place to entertain on Christmas. Mrs. Rumsfeld gave Judy the name of the person in charge at Walter Reed’s Fisher House.

These days Judy and Gary find themselves comfortable in any setting with wounded warriors and their families. For example, they’ve entertained at the Military Advanced Training Center (MATC), where the severely wounded go for intense physical and occupational therapy. At their first visit, they cautiously approached the head nurse and asked if they could enter MATC and interact with wounded warriors. The clowns received a thumbs up and entered accompanied by the head nurse’s service dog, who seemed to be saying, “These clowns are OK to be with you.”

The head nurse explained that this was the toughest physical therapy for young warriors now fitted with new arms and/or new legs and working hard for many hours at a time.  Clown Judy and Clown Gary were invited to distract the patients as they entered in full clown regalia, while carefully watched by MATC staff and the head service dog.

About four years ago, they were again at MATC and saw two patients – both double amputees -- lying on their stomachs on cots next to one another and working with physical therapists. Clown Gary thought one was asleep, so he started to show the other one a card trick. The patient they thought had been asleep turned and said, “Hey, I know that trick.” Gary then handed him the deck of magic cards and was relieved and pleased to have the young USMC corporal take over the magic demonstration for his band of brothers.

“We just watched,” Judy says. “We all were having fun, and the head nurse’s goal was met because our antics distracted the severely wounded patients for a few minutes from yet another long day learning how to walk on new prosthetic legs or how to prepare to hold their young children with new prosthetic arms.”

Gary walks the Walter Reed corridors “locked and loaded” with his multicolored squirt gun, which cannot fool the wounded warriors who know all too well the appearance of real guns.  He invites mayhem as he offers the use of his squirt gun to some patients.  As a highly decorated USMC General was walking amidst injured Marines who were perhaps one-third his age, Clown Gary mischievously whispered, “Anyone want to squirt the General?” One young double amputee seized the opportunity. 

“As the squirt gun did its worst, both men, as well as nearby staff and other patients, all broke into loud laughter,” Judy recalls.

Gary says, “When I get such laughter, it makes me feel that my mission is being accomplished. We don’t get paid in coin. We get paid in laughs.”

Sometimes the laughter and smiles are mixed with tears. One summer Judy and Gary were at a barbeque for wounded warriors and their families. Gary was pumping up a balloon to shape into a dog for a young man in a wheelchair; he wanted the balloon dog for his young son. It was a hot day, and the balloon accidentally popped. The sound instantly took the young combat veteran back to his memory of being severely wounded by an IED in Afghanistan. The patient started to cry, as did Clown Gary. Impulsively, both men hugged each other.

“Don’t worry,” the patient said to Gary. “We need to keep going so I not only have a toy balloon for my son, but I can also move a step closer to learning how NOT to react to loud noises now that I’m stateside.”

Judy and Gary understand smiling through tears. In the mid-1980s, they tried to conceive five times through in vitro fertilization. Judy also underwent four major surgeries to open her fallopian tubes, and then they turned to a surrogate mother. She turned out to be a fraud.

“At that point, I decided no more. We’re not going to try any more to have a baby. My experience of not being able to have children was one of the most difficult, most painful experiences of my life,” Judy says.

Once the decision to stop trying to have children was made, Judy stepped up her volunteering, whereas Gary turned to serving on the Board of Outward Bound, where he first learned to mountain climb in his home state of Colorado.  His climbing took him to all seven continents as he climbed some of their highest mountains, including the Vinson Massif in the Antarctic in 1991 and Everest in 1992.

In 1996, Judy discovered clowning. She’s made balloon creations and performed silly magic tricks for orphans and polio patients in Vietnam, local pediatric cancer patients, DC firefighters and police, elementary school children, and teenaged Maasai warriors in Kenya. She’s also entertained nursing home residents, foster families, kids in homeless shelters, Johns Hopkins Medical School students, the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and at the Million Mom March. Gary has accompanied her since his first venture to Walter Reed on Christmas Eve 2004.

“The joy in my heart when I see smiles on the faces of the people I entertain confirms that all my efforts are worthwhile,” Judy wrote for her upcoming Cornell University 50^th reunion book.

It’s not always joyful. Sometimes patients just want to talk, and Judy and Gary listen. “Some of their stories are overwhelming, and I sit and listen and cry,” Judy says.

Every so often their clowning can have big consequences. In December, Judy volunteered as a clown at an Easter Seals dinner reception, and a woman came up to her and told her that she had met her husband almost three years ago because of Judy. Clown Judy had made a balloon flower for the woman’s husband-to-be at the 2015 DOD Warrior Games in Quantico, VA (competitions for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans). He had used the flower to introduce himself to the woman, and now they’re married and have a baby.

“That made me cry,” Judy said, “but they were happy tears.”

It takes Judy three hours to transform herself into a clown. First, it takes her 45 minutes to an hour to make a three-foot tall hat out of balloons. Then she paints a big heart on each cheek, outlining in black eyeliner and coloring in with red lipstick. She attaches purple, gold, pink and black false eyelashes for the upper lashes and draws 10 long, black eyelashes out of eyeliner underneath each eye. She puts on her costume of polka dot bloomers, a red petticoat, a blouse emblazoned with clown decals, a puffy skirt with USMC stripes on the sides and a satin vest embroidered with “CLOWN JUDY” on the back.  Finally, she places a red foam ball on her nose and puts on a red wig.

Judy grew up a twin, the fourth of five children to Leo and Honey Gleklen. She was born a triplet, but one sister died when she was just a few months old. The family lived in Providence, RI, and Judy describes them as “silly, happy and openly affectionate, where kisses and laughter were the highlights of our daily lives.” The five children were always encouraged to help less fortunate people and to make them smile, she says, planting the seed for her becoming a clown many years later. They were encouraged to do volunteer work, and she started at age 6, performing ballet recitals and singing with her twin sister at nursing homes. She was also a Red Cross Candy Striper in high school and did a variety of volunteer work as an undergraduate at Cornell University.  Judy’s mom was always active in non-profit organizations, and she and her siblings continue that tradition.

Gary retired several years ago from his work as a financial strategy consultant and expert witness in lawsuits helping unravel the mess made by some of the largest banks in the US and Europe.  He grew up in Denver with an older sister. His mom was a devoted Red Cross volunteer, called a Gray Lady. His parents, Joseph and Claire Kopff, stressed academics, and Gary went east to Yale College.  After graduation, he studied at Cornell’s Graduate School of Management, where he met Judy.  They married in Providence in 1969, after Judy finished graduate studies in art history in New York City.

Today, Judy and Gary find fulfillment in the volunteer work they do.

“It makes me feel good when I bring smiles to the faces of children and ‘children-at-heart,’ as I call the adults,” Judy says. “Most adults like to smile and like to feel good. And If I can make them and their families feel good for a few minutes so that they can forget their pain, then that’s a good thing.”

A Flag from History

Written by: Joe J

I recently donated a flag displaying the Red Cross to the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region at their headquarters in Fairfax, VA. I’m a retired senior medical physician’s assistant now living in Virginia following retirement after having served 31 years with the Canadian Forces Medical Services. My American-born wife, Maya, and I came across the flag while preparing to downsize our home. This particular flag was a backup flag for a military medical facility in Daruvar, Croatia, during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990's. It was given to me by some of my soldiers on redeployment to Canada. The Red Cross symbol is used by the military of many nations to identify medical personnel and facilities protected under the rules of the Geneva Conventions. 

Canada was one of several countries participating in a United Nations Peace Keeping Force (UNPROFOR). Canada’s participation was known as Operation Harmony.

I went to Daruvar in 1992 to augment the staff, as the senior noncommissioned officer, of a Battalion Medical Station already deployed to Daruvar. Most of the troops at that time were in Sarajevo and the city was under constant sniper fire and frequent shelling and mortar fire. Part of my job was to establish a semi-permanent medical clinic in Daruvar in preparation for the medical resources redeploying from Sarajevo. Although quieter than Sarajevo, Daruvar was in the conflict zone where the occasional gunshot or explosion was heard. The medical station was established in part of an orphanage/school where many children were homeless and without family as a result of fighting in Croatia.  

Many of the troops, including the medical personnel, returning from Sarajevo had witnessed the gruesomeness of war as played out during the Siege of Sarajevo, particularly along one of the main roads that became known as “Sniper Alley” because of the indiscriminate sniping, from hills surrounding the city, at civilians going about their chores and trying to survive in their war-torn city.  

In one particular instance, the medical personnel and other soldiers participated in the rescue and initial treatment of up to 10 children, aged seven to 10, killed or severely injured as a result of a mortar round landing in their midst. The children frequently visited the building where the Canadian contingent was established. The troops on the lower level would often pass them food, usually candy, and the children would scurry off to a particular area to enjoy their treats. Unfortunately, and perhaps deliberately, a mortar round fell among them.   

Needless to say, some of the medical staff and other soldiers were psychologically traumatized by what they witnessed and experienced. It often manifested itself in bouts of depression, nightmares, not eating or difficulty carrying out daily tasks.  In one instance, I found a soldier sitting alone on a stone wall of a of a destroyed house. I watched him for a while, as the soldier smoked cigarette after cigarette. I went over to him, sat beside him for a while before asking him, “How are you doing?” The soldier immediately burst into tears and after much sobbing related what he saw and his participation in the rescue of the children. He was one of the soldiers who that day had given the children candy. Post-deployment psychological counseling was provided to all who had such experiences.

I was very appreciative of the professionalism and bravery of the medical personnel that staffed the Battalion Medical Station during my time in Daruvar, and I will always be grateful that I was a part of that team. To be given the flag was an honor and to have it accepted by the Red Cross means that perhaps once again it will be used to symbolize a place of aid and comfort and sanctuary.