Among the most valuable services that the American Red Cross provides are emergency communications. The Red Cross delivers urgent messages about births, deaths, serious illness, and other family emergencies to service men and women deployed anywhere in the world, usually within 24 hours. Military authorities often rely on these communications, which have been verified by the Red Cross, when making decisions to grant leave. The Red Cross also delivers messages confirming the welfare of loved ones to families and to service men and women who may have become worried by a sudden break in regular communication. In fiscal year 2005, the Red Cross delivered more than 107,000 of these emergency messages.

Through working independently and in conjunction with military aid societies, the Red Cross provides access to financial assistance for military families. In 2003 the Red Cross created the Casualty Travel Assistance program to ensure that grieving family members who do not qualify as next of kin have the financial resources they need to attend the funeral or memorial service of a fallen loved one. Since 2003, approximately 120 families have benefited from this program.

The Red Cross also provides critical information and referrals to active duty service men and women, families, and veterans. Through the Get to Know Us Before You Need Us initiative, the Red Cross educates members of the military and their families in local communities about the services available to them and how to access these services. Many military commanders make Get to Know Us presentations a standard part of pre-deployment briefings for service men and women. The Red Cross also provides information and assistance to families during the often difficult period following the return home of a service member who was deployed. Red Cross Chapter staff and volunteers offer counseling and reference materials that contain information on how to ease the transition to civilian life. Veterans also benefit from Service to Armed Forces information and referral services. The Red Cross provides information to veterans about the benefits to which they are entitled and how to obtain them.