Navy Marine Corps Relief Society Active Duty Fund Drive 2023

The Active Duty Fund Drive (ADFD) to support Navy Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS) is running all this month! Your donations to the annual campaign support important NMCRS programs that include financial assistance, Budget for Baby workshops and Visiting Nurses. Make your gift today! Your support during the Active Duty Fund Drive helps Sea Service families in need and creates opportunities for them to advance their education through our Education Program. Every donation makes a difference. Here are some testimonials from people who have used the program:

• Murphy’s Law – the family car will always break down during a deployment! A Sailor’s spouse had to deal with a $3,600 repair to the family’s only vehicle, while the Sailor was deployed. NMCRS caseworkers overcame the challenges of communicating with the remotely located service member, and got approval for the spouse to obtain the Society’s assistance. The funds for the vehicle repair were provided same day. What a relief for that family!

• Following the unexpected passing of her retired spouse, NMCRS was able to provide an interest-free loan to a widow to cover the expenses to move from Singapore, where they had been working, back to the States. This timely assistance meant the family would not have to wait months for insurance and other funds, but could be close to their support system at this tragic time.

• A Sailor and family recently changed duty stations. After reporting to the new command, pay issues occurred that caused almost the entire paycheck to be garnished for over 2 months, despite constant engagement by command to resolve the errors. NMCRS, in close coordination with the Sailor’s command, provided $6,000 in pay advances during this time to ensure the family had funds to find housing, feed themselves and cover their financial obligations until the pay issues were resolved.

• A service member’s spouse needed to have oral surgery to pass overseas screening before the family was able to PCS overseas. The service member did not have sufficient funds to cover this unexpected expense. The NMCRS interest-free loan allowed the family to complete their overseas screening and PCS on time.

• A Marine bearing the financial burden of an unemployed parent, fell behind on vehicle payments. At a loss for how to manage personal expenses and the basic needs of the parent he came to NMCRS for assistance. After completing a budget he was grateful and relieved to learn that NMCRS could assist with an interest-free loan to get vehicle payments current, and a budget to determine how much he could afford to give his mom. The relieved Marine left knowing he could honor his mom and make his vehicle payments.

• A Sailor’s electricity bill was set on autopay via debit card, but while on deployment the card had a fraudulent charge and a replacement was issued. Unfortunately, the Sailor forgot to update the local Power Authority with the new card information and thought the electric bill was being paid. When the deployment was over, the Sailor had an unexpected bill for three months electricity, and no funds set aside for this expense. NMCRS provided an interest-free loan so the lights could stay on, and the Sailor did not have to suffer an undue hardship.

From NAVCENT Public Affairs

A U.S. Navy ship served as a training platform for helicopter pilots from the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, Feb. 22-24.

Emirati pilots conducted deck landing qualifications aboard U.S. Navy expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) as the ship operated in the Arabian Gulf, enhancing interoperability among regional maritime partners.

“The pilots and aircrew integrated seamlessly with the deck crew of Lewis B. Puller,” said Capt. Jon Bradford, commanding officer of Lewis B. Puller. “It was a great experience for my team and we look forward to working with our Emirati partners in the future.”

The deck landing qualifications helped 25 Emirati military pilots maintain proficiency in