Written by Mary Jo Blackwood, American Red Cross of Colorado Volunteer
Do you ever wonder what deployed troops do when not otherwise occupied? The Red Cross has an answer for that. When troops deploy around the world, so do Red Cross Service to Armed Forces (SAF) and International Services staff. It’s their job to keep troops engaged and connected to home. SAF staff keeps troops entertained, engaged with their local hosts and doing meaningful activities.
Crystal Schutter, when back home in her Colorado/Wyoming Region, is a regional program manager and a mobile staff member, which means that she is available for six-month deployments around the world. She just finished her first deployment and is really excited to share her experience.
“My husband is active service military and we had our first overseas assignment when we were stationed in South Korea. That gave me the bug to do more traveling, which I can do as a mobile Red Cross employee. Our kids are all teenagers, so with some guidance from my husband, who is currently stationed in Colorado Springs at Ft. Carson, they can do well on their own.” That’s what they had to do when she spent from March to the end of July this year in Lithuania. When her husband had military responsibilities away from home, Texas relatives stepped in to help.
Schutter couldn’t disguise her enthusiasm talking about her deployment. Assigned to Team 51, she and about 30 other Red Crossers started out in Washington DC, where they got to tour the facility, visit the Red Cross archives (Did you know the Red Cross responded to the Titanic disaster??) and receive a week of training related to their upcoming deployment. From there, they went to Camp Atterbury in Indiana for final medical clearance and to receive their overseas assignments. Here’s where the first glitch came in. Schutter had been told she would be going to Kuwait, so she packed for a desert climate. Her husband told her she should have cold weather clothes, too, but she dismissed him. Of course, her assignment changed to Lithuania and she arrived there to four feet of snow.
“After my profuse apologies to my husband, he agreed to ship my cold weather clothes to me, but they didn’t arrive for four weeks, so I had some shopping to do to get snow pants and snow boots. It all worked out in the end. Fortunately, I had brought a big heavy parka, because when we got our living assignments, the bathroom and showers were a quarter mile from my “CHU” (container housing unit) and I had to bundle up for each trip!”
Schutter was the only one from Team 51 assigned to Camp Herkus, a military camp in the middle of the woods. She teamed up with Amanda English, who had been with Team 50 and who stayed over to be Schutter’s partner. Together, they were responsible for 1500 deployed troops from the 1-Eight Calvary unit from Ft. Cavasos, TX posted to Camp Herkus, along with about 500 other troops at Camp Tauras nearby. They also provided services for other troops stationed at the two camps, including Germans, Lithuanians, Finns and other Allied troops.
Because she and Amanda wore the American Red Cross insignia, some German doctors stationed there thought they were medical staff and took them on a tour of a tank they had gutted and outfitted for picking up wounded soldiers.
As an employee of SAF and International Services, Schutter provided entertainment, refreshments and volunteer opportunities for the deployed American troops, as well as the others stationed at the camp. She and Amanda split up their duties to get the maximum coverage for their efforts. Schutter was the volunteer coordinator and English served as the site lead, and attended command meetings.
They were also the first female civilians to receive the Lithuanian Rotation Forces Medal because of their hard work and how they improved life at the camp. They were able to create an effective collaboration between the Lithuanian host country and the Allied Forces stationed there.
Schutter kept busy with finding volunteer opportunities for her troops, entertainment such as karaoke, movie nights, Zumba classes and other activities. All of those things help boost morale. Because the Red Cross staff was held in such high regard, the One-Eight Calvary let them participate in the calvary spur ride. They were the first non-calvary to complete it.
When Schutter returned home from her first deployment, she was bubbling over with enthusiasm for the program. How could other people get involved in something like this? Schutter explained that there is a Reservist program for SAF and International Services. People in good physical health who can afford to be away from home for six months minimum can apply for the program. “They get paid for the deployment, so that can be attractive to someone wanting that experience. The Red Cross trains them, makes sure they are healthy and provides support for the deployment. While Schutter is still a Red Cross employee when back in Colorado, the reservists are only employees while on deployment.
All in all, Schutter feels her deployment was instrumental in bringing her closer to the Red Cross mission. “The American Red Cross was ‘born on the battlefield’ and so our mission to deploy with our soldiers runs deep. We are the only Red Cross in the world that supports our troops like we do!” She has also made some lifelong friends and feels more a part of the bigger picture of what Red Cross does to serve the greater community of the world.