Chris Royal, whose family lives in Dublin, left for Baghdad on Nov. 1 to serve as a liaison between troops and their families back home.

Photos courtesy of Chris Royal

The entrance to the Red Cross headquarters on Camp Liberty base in Baghdad.

| Mary Hardbarger

DUBLIN -- Chris Royal won't be coming home for Christmas this year.

But he's not discouraged, he said, because neither will thousands of U.S. troops.

Instead, the 48-year-old will be stationed at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, serving as an assistant station manager as part of the Red Cross Service to Armed Forces Program.

In this position, Royal serves as a link between servicemen and women stationed around the world and their families back home. He is a liaison carrying with him joyous messages of births and marriages and devastating news of death.

Because of recent technologies and the dedication of these service providers, Royal said he's seen a soldier at his parent's bedside just 24 hours after the delivery of a message.

"We get our guys out fast," he said.

Amy Whittaker, public relations director of the Roanoke Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, said that Royal's position was mandated by Congress in 1905 to provide on-the-site assistance and support for troops.

"It takes someone special to do what Chris is doing," she said.

Whittaker said there are positions within the Red Cross that would allow Royal to stay in the U.S. and assist the troops, but his commitment to service pushed him to travel overseas.

"He's going right into combat zones," she said. "Not everybody is suited for this position, but Chris definitely is."

Royal left for Fort Benning, Ga., on Nov. 1 for four days of classes and briefings and then began the three-day journey to Baghdad.

This is Royal's third tour with the program and, although he has never served in the military, he is not unfamiliar with the hard work and determination that it involves.

From fighting wildfires in California to building an emergency response center in Baton Rouge, La., Royal has found a calling in helping others.

"Once you get started," he said, "it gets in your blood."

Royal grew up in a military family and experienced the demanding lifestyle first hand. His father served in the Navy for 28 years and moved his family around a lot.

After graduating from high school, Royal traveled to New Zealand, Fiji and later found himself in rural Blue Grass, running a pizza joint. From 1993 to 2003, he ran Royal Pizza and Subs in Monterey.

"And then Katrina happened," Royal said. "And that's when everything changed."

Sitting at his parents' home in Dublin, Royal watched the devastation unfold across the Gulf Coast. He said it was at that moment he knew he had to take action.

Within three days of the catastrophe, Royal was on the border of Louisiana and Texas volunteering with the Red Cross.

He built shelters, delivered supplies and provided assistance in material support logistics work along with more than 250,000 other spontaneous Red Cross volunteers.

He continued to volunteer for six months and then returned to Dublin briefly, only to continue his newfound calling elsewhere.

In 2008, Royal took his first four-month tour with the Service to Armed Forces Program in Kuwait. There he was quickly embedded into a lifestyle not much different from the soldiers watching over him.

Royal worked 10- to 12-hour days without a break. He lived in the barracks, ate what the soldiers ate and "lived the life they lived," he said.

He and other workers were not allowed to leave the base and were told to stay "inside the wire."

Royal remained alert at all times for urgent messages sent to him by e-mail from family members of the soldiers.

After a message was placed, it was his responsibility to verify it. In certain situations, he would have to call a funeral home or a hospital to verify that a family member had died.

After verification, he would track down the service member's unit and relay the message to his or her command by phone. He said it was rare that he would ever talk to a solider himself, in order to stay neutral to the situation.

Royal said his single lifestyle was perfect for the job, having no family to leave behind.

"I'd hate to have to put my family through something like this," he said. "Some of these troops have missed the past five Christmases, the past five Thanksgivings ... their kids' birthdays."

On his current mission, Royal said he will continue to help bridge the gap of separation by setting up "Legacy Rooms" -- private rooms filled with computers and webcams allowing families to connect through technologies such as Skype and Facebook.

He will also participate in counseling the troops and providing financial assistance and referrals for emergency travel and other family needs.

Before his departure, he said he was going to buy $200 worth of small gifts at the Dollar Store and mail them to himself in Baghdad. During Christmas, he will pass them out to the troops.

Although Royal's position is a paid job, he said he doesn't do it for the money.

"Doing something like this makes you feel good about yourself ... about what you're doing," he said. "Helping one another is the greatest pay you can get."

Royal will return to Dublin in March, enjoy a three-month break and then set out on another mission. He said he wants to continue his work with the Red Cross as long as he is able to.