Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society Now Full-Service in San Antonio

Naval Medical Forces Support Command
Story by Petty Officer 1st Class Jacquelyn Childs

Date: 08.08.2017
Posted: 08.08.2017 15:21
News ID: 244221
NMCRS San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – Senior Navy and Marine Corps leaders joined a small gathering at the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society’s (NMCRS) newest full-service location for a ceremonial ribbon- and cake-cutting ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Aug. 8.

NMCRS San Antonio has been open at JBSA Fort Sam Houston since January 2015 but only recently expanded to a full-service, standalone branch.

“This is exciting for us because this is our newest office in the Navy and Marine Corps Relief team,” said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. (ret) Peter Collins, NMCRS chief operations officer. “We now have 51 offices worldwide in addition to 230 offices on board ships and small places around the world. Folks don’t realize the impact the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society has on the local (Navy and Marine Corps) communities.”

Collins expressed his views on the $45 million of assistance NMCRS provided in 2016 by breaking it down to a more personal example. He shared an experience of a Sailor who suffered multiple deaths in his immediate family including a grandmother, daughter and wife. The deaths occurred over the course of several years, and the Sailor needed help with funeral and burial costs. Each time the Sailor was able to turn to NMCRS for assistance and keep his family afloat financially during difficult times.

“You don’t necessarily know who’s coming for assistance, and you don’t need to know,” said Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, commander, Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command (NMETLC) and senior Navy officer in San Antonio. “But those stories are important so you do understand the power of the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. It touches a particular person at a particular time, and it makes all the difference for that person.”

Collins and McCormick-Boyle cut the ceremonial ribbon following a few remarks about the positive aspect of having NMCRS in San Antonio, a city not often thought of as having a large Navy presence.

“It is wonderful that Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society decided to establish a footprint here,” said McCormick-Boyle. “We are so grateful for that because our footprint is growing with the corpsmen, the master-at-arms, the recruiters, the Marines. There’s a lot of Navy presence here. We are very grateful for the support.”

The support offered by NMCRS helps keep Navy and Marine Corps personnel mission ready and in turn directly impacts command and unit missions. That support includes financial assistance and counseling, quick-assist loans, education assistance, budget for baby classes, emergency travel assistance and disaster relief.