From Fort Sill to the world: Red Cross Hero Care Center keeps military families connected
Renovated center celebrates 27 years of service and the community partnerships that help military families through life's most difficult moments.
FORT SILL, Okla. — A deployed Soldier in Poland couldn't be at his wife's side when she needed an emergency cesarean section. Thousands of miles from home, he faced the possibility of missing the birth of his child.
But with help from the American Red Cross, a secure remote connection allowed him to witness the birth, turning what could have been a moment of helplessness into one of connection.
It's the kind of difference the American Red Cross Hero Care Center at Fort Sill makes for military families around the world, often during some of the most important and difficult moments of their lives.
That mission was celebrated Oct. 21 as military leaders, Red Cross representatives and members of the Lawton-Fort Sill community gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the renovation of the center, which has served military families for more than 27 years.
The celebration brought together Brig. Gen. Patrick M. Costello, commanding general of the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, and his wife, Rachel; Lawton Mayor Stan Booker; City Manager John Ratliff; and other military, civic and community leaders.
Geovona Thomas-Hale, Fort Sill Hero Care Center manager, welcomed guests and recognized the employees, volunteers and community partners whose efforts sustain the center's worldwide mission.
MacArthur High School's Junior ROTC color guard presented the colors, and Chaplain Maj. Patrick Kihiu of the 428th Field Artillery Brigade delivered the invocation before remarks from Red Cross and military leaders.
A lifeline when families need it most
For military families, emergencies don't wait for a convenient time or place. A parent becomes critically ill, a loved one dies or a spouse goes into labor while a service member is stationed thousands of miles from home.
The Red Cross Hero Care Network helps bridge that distance.
Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the free service allows families to reach military members during emergencies, even when they are deployed overseas or aboard ships at sea.
Trained specialists gather information, verify emergencies with medical professionals or other appropriate sources and relay the information to military commands. Those verified messages help commanders make informed decisions about emergency leave.
When needed, the Red Cross can also connect eligible families with financial assistance through military aid societies, including Army Emergency Relief, to help with emergency travel and other urgent needs.
The Fort Sill center is a major part of that worldwide network. In a 2024 profile, the Red Cross identified it as the nation's largest facility of its kind, handling more than 317,000 calls annually at the time.
But behind those numbers are families facing real circumstances, often with little warning.
"Behind every call is a person," said Rebecca Streifler, American Red Cross vice president for Service to the Armed Forces and International Services.
Streifler shared the story of the Soldier in Poland during her remarks, emphasizing that the center's work goes beyond delivering information. Its specialists help families navigate uncertainty and maintain connections when distance makes difficult situations even harder.
"This building may be newly renovated, but it is your compassion, professionalism, and dedication that made it special," she told the staff and volunteers.
A legacy of helping those who serve
The Red Cross commitment to military families reaches back more than 160 years, a history Col. Nicole Charbonneau, commander of Reynolds Army Health Clinic, reflected on during the ceremony.
In 1859, Swiss humanitarian Henry Dunant witnessed thousands of wounded and dying Soldiers following the Battle of Solferino in Italy. His efforts to help the wounded, regardless of which side they fought for, inspired the movement that led to the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863.
In America, Clara Barton carried that same spirit of service onto Civil War battlefields, providing food, medicine and comfort to wounded Soldiers. Known as the "Angel of the Battlefield," she later established the Missing Soldiers Office in 1865, helping families learn the fate of more than 20,000 missing service members.
Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881, establishing a humanitarian legacy that continues today.
More than a century later, that mission remains central to the work at Fort Sill. Instead of handwritten letters and battlefield records, Red Cross specialists now use modern communication systems to help military families navigate emergencies anywhere in the world.
Chad Priest, American Red Cross divisional vice president for the Southwest and Rocky Mountains, described the organization's work as an unbroken tradition of service dating back to Barton's efforts during the Civil War.
He thanked Fort Sill garrison personnel, Red Cross employees and volunteers, and the many partners who helped make the renovation possible.
A community partnership that reaches beyond the center
While the Hero Care Center's emergency communication mission extends worldwide, the Red Cross partnership with Fort Sill is also felt throughout the local community.
At Reynolds Army Health Clinic, volunteers assist veterans with mobility challenges, helping them reach appointments, including those at the recently opened Veterans Affairs clinic on the third floor.
Charbonneau described watching volunteers greet veterans with wheelchairs, help them navigate the building and offer something that can be just as valuable as physical assistance, conversation and companionship.
For veterans who may experience isolation, those personal connections matter.
The Red Cross also supports young volunteers through opportunities to explore health care careers, while animal visitation teams bring therapy dogs to the clinic, including behavioral health areas, offering comfort to Soldiers, patients and staff.
For newly arriving Soldiers, Red Cross volunteers provide information about services available to military families, helping them understand where to turn before an emergency occurs.
And when emergencies strike close to home, Red Cross support can make an immediate difference.
Charbonneau recalled a recent incident in which lightning struck a Fort Sill Soldier's home, causing a devastating fire. The family, including four young children, escaped physical harm because they were away, but lost nearly everything, including a pet.
As the unit worked to find assistance, the Red Cross was contacted. Within hours, the Soldier had been connected with resources to help his family.
"That's why the Red Cross is here," Charbonneau said. "It's to help us get through some difficult times."
These services reflect a partnership that depends on far more than one organization. Fort Sill leadership and directorates, military health professionals, Red Cross employees and volunteers, and community supporters all contribute to a network of assistance for Soldiers, veterans and their families.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony reflected that shared commitment, bringing together installation leadership and Lawton civic representatives to recognize a mission rooted at Fort Sill but serving military families worldwide.
Renewing a commitment to military families
The Fort Sill Hero Care Center opened in July 1999 as part of a modernization effort to strengthen Red Cross emergency communications for the military.
More than a quarter-century later, the renovated facility provides refreshed workspaces for the specialists who continue that mission around the clock.
For the Lawton-Fort Sill community, the center represents something particularly meaningful: Work carried out right here in southwest Oklahoma helps military families across the nation and around the world.
The renovation celebrates the people behind that work and the partnerships that make it possible, from installation personnel who support the facility to the volunteers who offer help and reassurance to those who serve.
As guests toured the renovated center following the ribbon cutting, the occasion was more than a celebration of a building. It was a recognition of a humanitarian mission that continues because communities and organizations work together to support military families.
From a Soldier serving overseas to a veteran navigating a clinic hallway, the needs may be different, but the commitment remains the same.
And at Fort Sill, that commitment reaches far beyond the installation gates.
How military families can get help
Service members and their families can contact the American Red Cross Hero Care Network at 877-272-7337, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assistance is also available through the free Hero Care app or online athttps://www.redcross.org/get-help/military-families/hero-care-network/emergency-communication.html.
Families should have their service member's full name, rank, branch of service, military unit information and details about the emergency available when contacting the Red Cross.
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