Fort Drum  Base Essentials

Army Emergency Relief Fort Drum, 315-772-6560/6555

Army Emergency Relief provides emergency financial assistance to active-duty soldiers, retirees and family members during times of valid emergency need. AER provides Interest-free loans and/or grants to those who qualify for financial assistance. After normal duty hours, contact the American Red Cross for AER assistance at 877-272-7337 for emergency travel.

AER can assist with the following approved categories:

• Non-receipt of pay/lost or stolen funds
• Medical and hospital expenses
• Funeral expenses (assistance increased for dependent funerals from $10k to $15K)
• Emergency travel expenses (emergency leave travel for immediate family members will be processed at a minimum 50% grant)
• Rent/utilities/food
• Clothing
• Privately owned vehicle
• Fire or disasters
• Dental care for dependents (will start as a 50% grant at a minimum, no cap)
• Travel funds for relocation
• Minor home repairs (home owners)
• Purchase and repairs of basic essential appliances
• Child car seats
• Cranial helmets (processed as a grant only)
• Purchase of basic essential furniture
• Travel expenses related to “Welcome Home”
• Soldier hospitalized and listed as very seriously ill/seriously ill 
• Travel expenses when directed by a medical treatment facility to another medical facility
• Assistance provided to dependents involved in domestic violence cases
• Privation
• New category: immigration assistance
• New category: special needs assistance (for special needs equipment not covered by TRICARE or other Insurance)
• New category: spouse relicensing and recertification assistance (capped at $2,500)
• New program: child care (in association with a PCS move and enrollment in the Army Fee Assistance Program)
• New program: home school and remote education assistance (currently for school year 2020-21, capped at $1,500)

AER cannot assist with the following:

• Nonessentials
• Financing ordinary leave or vacation
• Paying fines or legal expenses
• Helping to liquidate or consolidate debt (possible exceptions)
• Assisting with house purchase
• Covering bad checks or pay credit card bill, government travel charge card
• Financing new car loans

Access to AER assistance

AER now has one application form (AER form 101 replaces the 600/700 forms) for both routine and commander/1SG quick assist programs. The application form 101 details required information and possible required supporting documentation.

The routine process has changed. Effective Sept. 9, 2015, direct access is authorized for all soldiers, regardless of rank, EXCEPT when one of the four situations exists:

• Soldiers in initial entry training will not be authorized direct AER access.
• Soldiers must have a minimum of 12 months time in service (determined from Leave and Earnings Statement) to receive direct access to AER.
• If the assistance request places the soldier/family in the high risk category, IAW Army Directive 2015-21 para 14, Army Risk Reduction Program, then direct AER access is not available and command involvement is required.
• Very important: Regardless of rank, financial assistance will be limited to two assistance cases (loan or grant) within a 12-month period without command involvement.

The commander/1SG quick assist process is a streamlined process where a company commander or unit first sergeant can authorize a soldier a loan up to $2,000, to be repaid over the maximum time of 15 months, if the expiration - term of service date allows. The commander/1SG quick assist program has the following guidelines:

• The commander/1SG quick assist can only be utilized for those approved categories of assistance.
• The commander/1SG quick assist will always be processed as an interest-free loan, never as a grant (exception emergency leave travel).
• A soldier can only have one commander/1SG quick assist at a time.
• To process a commander/1SG quick assist, in most cases, only the most recent end-of-month LES is required for supporting documentation.

All applications with command involvement must be signed by the company command or the unit first sergeant. However, in their absence, a sergeant first class or above who have assumption of command orders, is authorized to approve and sign AER applications. A copy of the assumption of command orders will be required to accompany the soldiers application. All applications signed by the soldier's command will have an email sent to the approving official giving them the final disposition of the case.

AER scholarship

AER's MG James Ursano Scholarship applications may be completed online at www.aerhq.org starting the first week of January with a deadline of April 1 of each year. The program is for dependent children of active and retired Army soldiers and is based on financial need, academics and leadership/achievement.

Scholarships are also available for spouses, both stateside and overseas and can be applied for throughout the entire school year.

If you experience an emergency while en route to Fort Drum, the following agencies may be able to assist you. Access to local telephone numbers for the area you are in is available by calling the operator. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or visit the closest emergency room. Referral assistance is available 24 hours a day from Military OneSource at 800-342-9647.

Be sure to carry your important documents with you as you travel. Do not ship these with your household goods. This includes important phone numbers such as an information number for your new duty station and your sponsor.

Arrival Delay

If you're in transit and an emergency arises, call the Reception Activity Welcome Center at 800-661-7158 or 315-772-7529/0423 and let them know the nature of your emergency. Remember, if you are unable to arrive by your reporting date and you do not call ahead, you may be considered AWOL.