At Red Cross headquarters in Washington D.C. there stands three memorials dedicated to Red Cross volunteers who lost their lives in service to our men and women in the military – 493 everyday people who answered their own unique call to serve.
Since the Spanish-American War, Red Crossers have served in every major conflict caring for our military members while risking their own lives to do so. In the past 16 years alone, approximately 1,000 Red Cross personnel have deployed in support of our men and women in uniform to locations such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, Iraq and Kuwait.
This year, we re-dedicate ourselves to this work through our deployment back to Iraq. We’re pleased to report our new team has already arrived in country. This new team stands on the shoulders of the Red Cross-deployed teammates that came before them. They embrace that simple, yet fearless ethos articulated by our founder Clara Barton as she rallied her volunteers to action during the Civil War:
“I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.”
Not only will the team in Iraq distribute comfort items to American troops and Department of Defense civilians, they will initiate and participate in morale boosting activities around the installation. They are also responsible for executing one of our most important responsibilities: making sure service members and their families stay in touch with each other – especially during times of crisis. Our team will use the Red Cross Hero Care Network to relay vital information between service members, their families and commanders in the field. Military commanders know that in times of family crisis, they can rely on the Red Cross to verify and quickly transmit important and confidential information to military personnel.
We believe that care and comfort can find a home in even the most dangerous and remote corners of the world, and our teammates do not shy from this work. They embrace this call as a core part of the Red Cross mission.
Meet Our Red Cross Iraq Deployment Team
Elizabeth “Lisa” Enyeart
Lisa Enyeart, originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, is a true Hoosier and avid Indiana Basketball fan. She graduated in 2006 from Indiana University Bloomington with a Bachelor of Arts in history. She joined the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) division in November 2009. She is currently the regional program manager for the SAF location at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. She is a veteran of multiple Red Cross deployments, including Afghanistan and Djibouti. In her free time, she loves to travel and experience new people, places and cultures. To date, she has visited 47 countries and hopes to visit all of them in her lifetime.
Kim Chromicz
Kimberly Chromicz grew up in Magnolia, New Jersey, and attended Arizona State University. She is currently the regional program specialist in Baumholder, Germany, and has previously deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan in 2014 with the Red Cross. She has been married for 14 years to Aaron, a retired Air Force veteran. Together they have a dog, Strudel, who is a certified pet visitation dog in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Red Cross Pets and Warriors (PAWs) program.
My Message: A Heartfelt Send-Off
As I walk by the Red Cross memorials dedicated to those 493 Americans who gave their own special last measure of devotion – I whisper a simple prayer for their families: “May God bless these Red Cross families, and may our nation never forget them.”
Join me in taking a moment to pay homage to the amazing people of the American Red Cross that support our troops today and ask that they be surrounded by the same love and protection our Red Cross family has offered during the conflicts of the past.
You can find more information on what we do and learn how to support our work or volunteer on our website.
