By Debra R. Cox, American Red Cross Team 54 Field Member

Indelible. For we, the twenty-two members of the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces Team 54, our deployment is quickly coming to an end as the days go by with the force of a hurricane and at the speed of a bullet train. Despite this anomaly, it is difficult to summarize the indelibly profound impact of experiences for which we have few words because they are deeply felt and equally deeply and carefully tucked away in our minds and in our hearts. In fact, sometimes by attempting to encapsulate our mission, it becomes seemingly far simpler than it is, and oversimplifying the experience runs the risk of lessening its tenor and its depth of meaning for all of us, Service to the Armed Forces deployers and service members alike. As one of the members of SAF Deployment Team 54, I can attest to the incredibly impactful and meaningful experience of supporting service members, in my case, out here in the desert of the Middle East.

Most of us who have deployed with the Red Cross had a general idea of the humanitarian mission prior to our arrival yet the specifics we could only guess, as is true with most experiences. Prior to deploying, we could not fully understand the comprehensive, profound nature of the experience. We delivered emergency communications, briefed command leadership, created morale events, onboarded hundreds of military member volunteers, and participated in commands’ presentations of Military Volunteer Service Medals. Perhaps most importantly, we inquired as to the individual welfare of service members, then truly listened as responses to our inquiries engendered stories of challenges within families and between friends, as well as so much more.

Many of us created gardens, both metaphorically and literally, oases in the middle of an often-austere landscape. Some of us were eased onto the dance floor to practice new dance steps with service members. Others of us created calm, inviting spaces for service members to inhale and exhale as they nurtured their own resilience and realigned the hearts that, while mission-focused, direly miss their loved ones. Most of us provided snacks and hygiene items that were often missing in the remote regions where we deploy and live alongside the service members we serve for months at a time.

With our respective missions at our varying locations mostly complete, we will count on those deployers who come after us in the long red line (a term coined by our esteemed deployer Debby MacSwain), watching program evolution, as well as remembering our time among the service members who we continue to serve in our hearts, as is true of those who served prior to us, an everlasting legacy for generations to come. Oftentimes working 12 or more hours a day, seven days per week, those of us who earned our places as members of Team 54 experienced this indescribable, deep honor and privilege. No matter our location during our global mission, we will never forget how it was, how it felt to live among and serve those who serve, a profound experience that will serve as a beacon in our living memories. As the shadows lengthen, we pause to reflect, and we realize that our deployment has been truly indelible. In our hearts, all of us will forever be standing on “the long red line.” Indelible indeed.

-from the Field

Debra Cox’s Service to the Armed Forces Deployment

The Red Cross provides in-person support for troops on all military installations in the U.S. and on more than 35 overseas installations including the Far East, Middle East and Europe. In addition to Debra Cox’s work serving members of the military community in Southern California, she has also deployed to Kuwait as a member of the Service to the Armed Forces team. She is serving alongside fellow Red Crossers dedicated to providing important services to military members during their time away from home. From facilitating Emergency Communication Messages to providing volunteer opportunities to service members, to offering resiliency and self-care opportunities, SAF teams deployed across the world provide members of the armed forces with important services. During her deployment, Debra is also writing about her experience in a series of stories titled From the Field.