“We owe that to our veterans. We owe them a smooth transition. If we send them, we mend them.” 

For Mike Seifer, a veteran who served two tours in the Gulf, those words are more than a slogan. They are the reason he helped start the new Red Cross Military 2 Veteran Network alongside Becky LaPolice and Melissa Comeau. He knows firsthand what it’s like to leave military service and the challenges veterans can face when they return to their communities.

“During my transition, I went from being an active-duty service member to being a civilian overnight without any real transition,” Mike said. 

The Military 2 Veteran Network (M2VN) is a new peer-support network from the American Red Cross, open to all current and former service members and veterans. Designed by veterans, for veterans, M2VN helps those navigating the transition to civilian life connect with resources for employment, housing, mental health support, and more.

“M2VN is really getting after the issue of social isolation. We know that there is a deadly gap 18 months after a service member separates from the military into their veteran life and their civilian community,” Melissa said. “We wanted to be a bridge from the people they met in service that could meet them in their communities and really attach to their journey going forward.” 

The Red Cross has cared for the nation’s military and their families for more than 140 years. Many groups serve veterans, but gaps remain, particularly in military communities with limited access to support. M2VN carries the Red Cross role beyond times of crisis and into everyday life. 

For Melissa, the need is personal. She wishes she had known about peer support when her husband reintegrated into the community. 

“When my husband was medically retired from the Marine Corps, we did not know what programs and services we qualified for or where they were, but more importantly, we didn’t know a lot of other families that had gone through the situations we had gone through, and it was something we really wanted.” 

Becky LaPolice dedicated years of her life to military service. When she transitioned to civilian life, it was a challenge. There were limited resources to help people make that shift, and she saw the need firsthand. Now she is part of the team behind M2VN. 

“It matters because you’re sharing that lived experience,” Becky said. “You have things in common that you might not have with family members, with even a spouse. M2VN is a place to get support knowing that someone lived a similar life.” 

Members connect through a secure online community that is available around the clock. It includes regularly scheduled peer-support groups and chats, plus education, self-care practices, and wellness workshops.  

Melissa said one of the things she hears most from veterans is that they still want to serve. They miss the camaraderie and want to belong to something bigger than themselves, and she sees M2VN as an extension of that service. 

“You can take everything you’ve learned from your lived experience in the military and bring it to M2VN to continue serving the community, to continue serving your peers,” Melissa said. 

Mike has a message for the people M2VN is built for: “Every single veteran out there, every soldier who’s over there feeling like they want to be closer to home, people who can find a place of connection and hope – you are who M2VN is for.” 

Learn more at redcross.org/veterans.