From delivering emergency communications to leading wellness programs, Team 59 helps service members stay connected far from home

More than 9,000 miles from Angie Fie's home sits Camp Lemonnier—a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, Africa. Military cargo aircraft, aircraft hangars, flight line maintenance facilities, intelligence operations centers and logistics warehouses are just a few of the elements that keep the installation running around the clock. Also on the base is Angie, an American Red Cross expeditionary mobile staff member serving as part of Team 59 — a group of 20 Red Cross staff deployed across 17 military installations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to support service members stationed far from home.

Angie will serve at the installation, which is a critical hub for U.S. operations across East Africa and the Middle East, for six months, as part of this special team of  Red Cross staff members who are serving military members deployed to designated theaters of operation around the world, including in locations like Kuwait, Qatar, Estonia and Poland. The primary goal of Red Cross Team 59: deliver emergency communications to service members stationed on each base, helping connect them with their families during emergencies or significant life events.

“We deliver emergency messages from situations of a death in the family, critical injury, illness, behavioral health issues and even births,” Angie said.

Delivering critical messages isn’t Team 59’s only mission. The team also leads the Red Cross Mindful Movement program along with other wellness workshops and respite activities that help service members unwind after long days and nights on deployment.

“Connecting with other service members outside of the work matters, because their work is very stressful,” Angie said. "It's the one independent place on base where they can take off the uniform after a workday and just be themselves."

The Red Cross center on each base gives service members a place to go where they can set aside the weight of their responsibilities. Whether it’s a painting class, a yoga or Mindful Movement session or simply watching a movie – the space offers a chance to relax and recharge. It also offers them a place to find meaningful ways to contribute by becoming a Red Cross volunteer.

Before deploying, Team 59 spent several weeks training together, completing military familiarization, emergency communications and casework instruction, security and medical requirements and team-building exercises to prepare for life and work on a remote military installation. For Angie, this was nothing new.

"This will be my fourth deployment,” Angie said. "And since the Spanish-American War, the Red Cross has served every major conflict alongside our troops."

At Camp Lemonnier, Angie will be teaching Mindful Movement classes which focus on helping participants manage stress and build resilience through simple, accessible movement like gentle stretching and breathing exercises.

“It’s basically 45-minute shot of relaxation,” Angie said. "Sleep can be a real challenge for service members. I remember at one base we held a class at 10 p.m., and it was packed because people were still up and looking for a way to unwind."

Whether she's delivering life-changing information or creating a space for connection and relaxation, Angie's goal is the same: to remind service members serving thousands of miles from home that they're never alone.

Every year, approximately 40 Red Cross mobile staff members deploy to support the humanitarian needs of the US military at remote, forward-deployed sites around the world. To get involved, go to redcross.org/SAF.