Red Cross Volunteer Loves Her Work In Iraq

Red Cross

Everyday, women are making history here in Iraq, but one Red Cross worker is making history one family at a time.

Heather Ross, Assistant Station Manager, Tikrit-American Red Cross, might not make the history books but she is a part of the Soldiers' and their families' history while in Iraq.

Ross started as a volunteer with the Red Cross in the United States. This is her fourth trip to this area and she is completing her second year in Iraq.

"I love this job - I absolutely love this job," Ross said. "I love working with the Soldiers - I love hearing their stories - I love being part of this."

The main mission for the Red Cross is to provide a communication link between the American public and the Armed Forces.

Ross and the other two members of her team assist the units and the Soldiers in making a decision as to when a Soldier needs to go home on emergency leave. The team also gets to relay good-news messages to Soldiers that might be hard to contact.

The Tikrit office also provides some additional services that boost moral such as a coffee shop, giving away free gift cards for phone calls and Army and Air Force Exchange Service also known as the PX, and giving away free bags of coffee. All of the products handed out are donated by businesses and people that support the Armed Services.

AAFES receives donations from military supporters for the gift checks and they also donate some on there own behalf. Thousands of dollars in phone cards and thousands of pounds of coffee are just some of the other things donated by military supporters in the United States.

Ross and her team often stand outside the chow hall and hand out the gifts as people come through. If someone looks grumpy they might get a gift check just to cheer them up.

"Every once-in-awhile you get to touch someone's life at a personal level," Ross said. "We have people all over the world but I feel like it means something to be over here."