FORT DRUM, N.Y. (March 4, 2026) -- Echoing the theme “Empowering Soldiers, Enhancing Lives,” unit leaders across the 10th Mountain Division (LI) are supporting the 2026 Army Emergency Relief (AER) campaign by educating Soldiers and encouraging participation.
Maj. Richard Steinouer, 10th Mountain Division Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion executive officer, and Master Sgt. Deantoni Littleton, 10th Mountain Division HHBN S3 Operations sergeant major, are the lead organizers for this year’s AER campaign.
“As leaders we invest in our Soldiers through training, equipping, and building readiness,” Steinouer said. “Many Soldiers will face a time in their career in which they find themselves in a financial emergency and need our support in investing in their or their family’s financial wellbeing so that they can refocus on the mission. AER provides that speedy support – helping 30,000 Soldiers each year.”
Anna Ostrander, Fort Drum AER officer with Army Community Service (ACS), said that her office approved 615 cases in 2025, totaling $1,026,400 in loans and grants.
Although service members continued to receive pay during the government shutdown last year, Fort Drum AER processed several applications for basic needs, housing and family support to assist retired Soldiers who were impacted.
“We also saw an increase in PCS-related (permanent change of station) requests from service members who were waiting longer than normal to be reimbursed for their travel expenses due to the government shutdown last year,” Ostrander said.
Ostrander said the most requested categories of assistance are vehicle assistance and emergency travel expenses.
“The assistance provided between these two categories accounted for nearly half of the $1 million that Fort Drum provided in assistance last year,” she said.
The AER campaign began March 1 and continues through June 14.
“Our goal this year is to increase the participation rate across the division to align it with the Army’s 2026 campaign participation rate of 20 percent,” said Steinouer.
Fort Drum also has a monetary goal of $100,000 this year. To that end, the 10th Mountain Division (LI) has assigned AER representatives at the division, brigade and battalion level that are communicating with Soldiers about the importance of the Army’s nonprofit organization.
“We’ve asked each of these representatives to help us get the word out at every echelon,” said Littleton. “Our AER representatives will engage company and battalion formations during Motor Pool Mondays, closeout formations on Fridays, during key events and meetings with leadership, and via digital platforms. Our goal this year is to touch every formation that we can, whether that be in person or online to help get the word out.”
Steinouer said that there is also an AER coordinator in every brigade and battalion who works with the division AER coordinator and the Fort Drum AER officer throughout the campaign season.
“They are informing their subordinate formations about what AER is, how it helps Soldiers and the Army, and how Soldiers and leaders can request support,” he said. “In addition to that, AER coordinators inform Soldiers and leaders across the division about how they can donate to AER throughout the season.”
AER coordinators track donations down to the company level to help determine where they need to focus engagements and keep command teams informed to recognize outstanding units. They can also provide direct assistance to Soldiers and leaders in requesting AER support or coordinating with the Fort Drum AER office if a Soldiers has a financial emergency.
Soldiers interested in donating to this year’s campaign should contact their brigade or battalion representative for more information. Donations can be made online by visiting [https://give.armyemergencyrelief.org/site/TR/Events/General?company_id=1052&pg=company&fr_id=1060](https://usg01.safelinks.protection.office365.us/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgive.armyemergencyrelief.org%2Fsite%2FTR%2FEvents%2FGeneral%3Fcompany_id%3D1052%26pg%3Dcompany%26fr_id%3D1060&data=05%7C02%7Cmichael.f.strasser.civ%40army.mil%7C0a014a2a1be242ae451208de7945b13a%7Cfae6d70f954b481192b60530d6f84c43%7C0%7C0%7C639081537378902099%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=rqz8G24kJnsGpkVwXVIgEP2ugqAHoLn6%2BxYuw5AgovU%3D&reserved=0).