21st Theater Sustainment Command Supports 2026 AER Campaign

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany - The Army Emergency Relief (AER) program is conducting their 2026 annual campaign. Which began on March 1, 2026 and concludes June 14, 2026, on the Army's birthday.

The purpose of AER's campaign is to raise funds for AER. AER provides support to Soldiers and their families during times of financial hardship for critical needs such as rent, utilities, and medical.

This year's campaign is broken into two goals for the Rhienland-Pfalz region. The campaign's primary goal is to raise 100 percent awareness of the campaign and the assistance the AER program offers to Soldiers in the region. The secondary goal is to achieve 20 percent of active-duty Soldiers donating to the campaign.

The 21st Theater Sustainment Command has set the lofty goal of raising $210,000 for this year's campaign, which equals roughly 10 percent of the entire Army's donations last year.

A main function of AER is the issuance of zero-interest loans. According to Jessee Dean, the AER U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz program director, the loans may be used for utilities, rent, car payments, insurance, and similar needs. Assistance with personal loans, credit cards, legal fees, or taxes are not authorized in the program.

A secondary function of AER is the issuance of grants. The grant program may be used by Soldiers and immediate family for grants of up to $4,000. Additionally, AER can assist with certain expenses that go beyond the $4000 cap like rental cars, hotels, food, and fuel during events like PCS, emergency travel or funeral expenses. In instances like this it can be a combination of a grant and no-interest loan.

According to Dean, running the program is not just another job, he has an emotional tie to its success. "I've personally used AER twice. One time I owed €3,000 in gas and €1,500 in electricity due to billing issues," said Dean. "I had to pay it quickly, and AER helped cover that."

AER is completely donation driven and not government funded. Rheinland-Pfalz was heavily supported by AER throughout last year.

According to Dean, during the 2025 campaign, $2.1 million was donated, Army wide. Approximately 16 percent of Soldiers in Rheinland-Pfalz donated last year, for a total of $31,600. Due to the high costs associated with PCS moves to this region, $1.9M was distributed to Soldiers in Rhheinland-Pfalz via grants and loans.

"Seek out your unit representatives to learn about AER. You can donate online or through your unit representative," said Dean, for personnel who are interested in donating "There are also manual methods like cash, check, or allotment forms. QR codes have been developed to allow quick digital donations using cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay."

If you would like to contribute to AER online, please visit https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/donate/ and if you would like to see any additional info go to https://www.armyemergencyrelief.org/ or talk to your unit representative for AER.