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British Volunteers Work Alongside the American Red Cross in Saudi Arabia
Written by Josiah Brownell, Volunteer Staff Writer
December 10, 2002 — Saudi Arabia is roughly one fifth the size of the United States; most of it arid desert. The Prince Sultan Air Base is literally in the middle of this desert, 50 miles south of the capital city of Riyadh, where the temperature regularly rises above 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The base, which in many ways resembles a gigantic parking lot, is also home to a variety of snakes, spiders and scorpions. Needless to say, it is not a popular vacation getaway.
The American Red Cross supports troops at the Prince Sultan Air base in Saudi Arabia, despite harsh conditions.
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The allied troops on this far away base are subjected to many hardships, but to them the one bright spot — or to be more accurate, the one shady and cool spot — is the Armed Forces Emergency Services station operated by the American Red Cross. This oasis could not be made possible without the help of both American and British active duty volunteers.
Through November, the AFES office at PSAB was run by two staffers, Lionel Grant and Marietta O’Brien, whose job it was to make this foreboding and unpleasant place as homey as possible. They were assisted in this task by more than 500 volunteers. The MWR office organizes monthly events for the troops and the AFES staff recruits and assigns volunteers to support the activities including a bazaar with different vendors; fun runs that often consist of 600 or more participants; an ice cream social and a birthday meal for everyone celebrating birthdays that month. Other events sponsored by AFES included: Sports Day, a street hockey tournament, pool relays, intramural softball, volleyball, basketball, RAF push-up, chin-up, and sit-up competitions, talent shows and carnivals. These activities were in addition to the quality of life items shipped from Red Cross chapters across the United States including items such as videos, candy, coffee, games, books, magazines, newspapers, comics and stationary distributed by the AFES workers and volunteers on the base.
Although the AFES office is operated by the American Red Cross, the services rendered are for the benefit of all the allied service personnel on the base, and the volunteers at the office include many members of the British Armed Forces. The following excerpts are taken from two letters written by British active duty troops who volunteered at the AFES station while at the base:
William McAdoo is part of a coalition force and had been working along side the United States Air Force Security Forces for seven weeks:
Lionel and Marietta who run the Red Cross here are very friendly people and made me feel most welcome even though I am not American. We, the British, had been given so much by the American Red Cross and had nothing to give back. Lionel and Marietta were very happy for us to join and were pleased of the British interest. Anything that I have volunteered for I have felt welcomed and everyone is very grateful for my help. The American Red Cross provides an excellent service to the American, British and French Service Personnel without hesitation and does not care that we are from a different nation, as they know that we are here to do the same job. We are treated as one big family. I noticed that the American military have a saying, “one team, one fight.” Well, in the American Red Cross we are all one team, no matter rank, sex, race, religion or nation. I would like to thank the American Red Cross for everything that they have done here at PSAB.
Cpl Rob Warren is also a member of the HM Forces Royal Air Force Police serving alongside the U.S. Air Force.
Whilst on detachment to PSAB I had a desire to get to know American service personnel outside my normal day-to-day duties. After a few weeks I was encouraged to sign up as a volunteer member of the American Red Cross. Since doing so I have met so many new friends outside my normal work, volunteering for many various duties and activities, and shared many experiences with my new found friends. No matter how large or small my voluntary time has been, I have always been made extremely welcome and left with a feeling of gratitude and belief that I and others have completed a job well done, boosting the morale of each and every one of us. The experiences I have had and the people I have met whilst serving as a voluntary member of the American Red Cross has helped this tour of duty to be far more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined. I sincerely hope that my experiences will encourage more 'Brits' to volunteer!
The AFES station at the PSAB is one of 109 around the globe facilitating communication between U.S. military troops and their family members, supplying quality of life items, and generally boosting morale. The AFES staffers and the American and British active duty volunteers at the PSAB who constantly give their time to help others, have successfully created a small oasis of comfort in the middle of this barren desert.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. The Red Cross also supplies nearly half of the nation's lifesaving blood. This, too, is made possible by generous voluntary donations. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. You can make a secure online credit card donation or call 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669) or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Or you may send your donation to your local Red Cross or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE (1-800-448-3543), or contact your local Red Cross to find out about upcoming blood drives.
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