No matter how well you have planned your move, emergencies do happen.
Before you leave make sure you have all important papers with you - not packed with your household goods. Make sure you have important numbers such as your Command Duty Office, and your sponsor. Your sponsor can be invaluable in case of an emergency while in transit. The American Red Cross is always available for emergency aid.
Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society can provide financial assistance to meet unforeseen required travel and related maintenance expenses such as transportation, lodging or food, when applicable due to extraordinary costs involved with permanent change of station (PCS).Navy Marine Corps Relief Society can provide financial emergency assistance based upon need, through either loans or, when there is a particular hardship, grants. Categories of financial assistance include: Basic living expenses (food, shelter, utilities), medical not covered by TRICARE, dental not covered by DDP, funeral expenses, emergency transportation, essential car repairs, pay and allotment problems, disasters and assistance for widows, mothers and children.
The American Red Cross can also help in times of emergency. Quick communications with home about family emergencies is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including verification of death or serious illness or immediate family, birth announcements to fathers deployed overseas, and health and welfare reports resulting from a lack of communication over a long period of time.
The American Red Cross also offers financial assistance for military personnel and their immediate families in the form of interest free loans or grants when a loan would place a greater hardship on the family. Examples of need for financial assistance are: emergency leave expenses for the service person or his/her family member; for family necessities which may result when an allotment check is not received or delayed; for personal needs of an essential and emergency nature; and for convalescent leave expenses.