Army Emergency Relief (AER) is a non-profit, charitable organization independent of, but closely associated with the United States Army. AER was established on Feb. 5, 1943, in Washington, DC, by Secretary of War Henry Stinson and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Marshall, with $1.5 million in seed money from the American Red Cross and $12 million from Irving Berlin's musical, "This is the Army." It was incorporated as a non-profit organization to meet the emergency financial needs of a rapidly expanding Army. [1]
The first slogan of AER was "The Army Cares For Its Own." In October 1943, Cases handled by the various officers of Army Emergency Relief cover emergency operations, accidents, births, and all other problems requiring immediate attention and needing assistance. Here the wife of an Army man who expects a baby and who needs financial, medical or post-natal assistance, receives the courteous and understanding assistance from that military agency which believes in caring of its own.[2]
AER merged with the Army Relief Society in July 1976.[3]
It is one of the four official military service relief organizations alongside the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, the Air Force Aid Society, and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance. [4]
The organization is headquartered in Arlington, VA.[5]
AER's Board of Managers is made up of senior active duty and retired officers and noncommissioned officers, industry experts and spouses of Army leaders. Michael A. Grinston, the 16th Sergeant Major of the Army, was named CEO of AER in late 2023. [6] He took over the non-profit in January 2024.[7]. He is the first-ever noncommissioned officer to head the relief foundation.[8] Grinston sees his role at AER as a continuation of his commitment to Soldiers and their Families. AER’s mission strongly aligns with Grinston’s purpose of bringing stability to Soldiers in need. In his former leadership roles, he saw first-hand the issues that can stem from strained financial situations – suicide, domestic violence and food insecurity to name a few. Grinston wants to ensure that Soldiers do not have the burden of worrying about financial issues while they are protecting Americans around the world.[9]
- ^ "Army Emergency Relief gives junior Soldiers direct access". 10 September 2015.
- ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ALtSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=En0DAAAAIBAJ&dq=army-emergency-relief&pg=7137%2C1155443 [bare URL]
- ^ https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/AER-2022-AER-990-Public.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Military Support Organizations".
- ^ "Army Emergency Relief will help Men and Families". St. Petersburg Times. October 18, 1943.
- ^ "Grinston named next AER director". 11 November 2023.
- ^ "Grinston makes fundraising priority for Army Emergency Relief".
- ^ "The Army's former top NCO has a new challenge on the horizon". 14 November 2023.
- ^ "Michael A. Grinston biography".