RALEIGH, July 10, 2017- For more than 135 years, Red Crossers have served in every major conflict, caring for military service members while risking their own lives to do so.
This commitment to men and women of the United States military holds true today as the Red Cross plans to deploy seven staff members in July from across the nation to military bases in the Middle East. One of those staffers includes Jeannette Salcedo, Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces manager on Fort Bragg.
Salcedo will deploy July 19, and will be stationed for six months at Camp Lemonnier, in Djibouti, Africa. She will serve as the only Red Cross staff member on the base during that time. She will deliver emergency communication messages from military family members to troops stationed at the base in the Horn of Africa. There, she will also teach CPR and First Aid, as well as children’s disaster preparedness courses.
“I hope to broaden my exposure to different cultures and gain further experience relating to people from different cultures and points of view,” Salcedo said of the upcoming journey. “I want to be there for our troops to assist in any way possible, and to bring them a little bit of home.”
Since 1991, the Red Cross has deployed more than 1,000 personnel to Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq and Kuwait. For Salcedo, this marks her second deployment with the Red Cross. In 2013, she spent five months stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.
“It takes an incredible amount of courage and a passion to serve others to leave the comforts of home and your family,” said Joshua Cain, Red Cross of Eastern NC Service to the Armed Forces Director. “We are so proud of Jeannette and her selfless commitment to serving members of our nation’s military.”
For more information or to schedule an interview with Jeannette before she deploys, please contact Brittany Jennings at (910) 512-3359 or email brittany.jennings2@redcross.org. You can also check out a Q&A with Jeannette about her upcoming experience.
To learn more about how the Red Cross supports military members, their families and veterans, visit redcross.org/military.
PHOTO ATTACHED: Jeannette Salcedo during a five-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2013.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.