For Jamar Brewton, service has never been something abstract. It has always been personal. Growing up in Charlotte, he learned early what it meant to work hard, to carry your weight and to figure things out as you go. After high school, he juggled three jobs while taking classes at a community college, determined to build a life with purpose.

“I had a huge passion to be successful,” he says. “I wanted to be somebody. I didn’t want to stay where I was.”

He initially began training for a career in firefighting, taking fire protection courses while working full-time. But the path forward kept stalling. Placement test issues meant repeating coursework he had already done, and the financial and logistical barriers began to stack up. It felt like he was pushing without gaining ground.

Around the same time, a close friend from high school enlisted in the Air Force. Watching her step into something defined by structure, challenge and purpose made him stop and consider his own direction.

“I wanted to see if I was really who I believed I was,” he says. “I wanted camaraderie. I wanted to serve with a purpose.”

At 18, Jamar enlisted in the U.S. Army and was selected as a Cavalry Scout in the 82nd Airborne Division. The experience reshaped him. Basic training taught discipline, attention to detail and the understanding that responsibility is shared.

“You learn quickly, it’s not just about you,” he says. “You’re part of something bigger. And your part matters.”

In the Army, he learned what it meant to lead and to follow, and that leadership is most visible in the hardest moments.

“Sometimes it’s not about giving orders,” he says.

In 2013, Jamar deployed to Afghanistan, where his unit operated along Highway 1 in Kandahar. His team’s job was reconnaissance, often moving ahead to identify safe routes and keep others out of harm’s way.

“We were the ones going first,” he says. “You’re looking for anything that’s out of place.”

The threat of improvised explosive devices was constant, and several soldiers in his troop were injured during the deployment. Some lost limbs. One didn’t make it home. Those experiences stayed with him.

“It changes how you view responsibility,” he says. “It teaches you to be calm when the situation isn’t calm, to be steady when other people need steady.”

When his time in the military ended, Jamar knew he still wanted to serve, just in a way rooted in everyday community life. He earned degrees in sociology and public administration and eventually discovered emergency management. The alignment was immediate. The coordination, the readiness and the responsibility to step in when needed all felt familiar.

That sense of purpose is what brought him to the American Red Cross.

“The same feeling I felt wearing the uniform,” he says, “is the feeling I get when I can tell a family, ‘You don’t have to sleep in your car tonight. We have a place for you.'”

Since joining the Red Cross, Jamar has supported disaster response across communities, coordinated with local partners and helped families navigate some of their hardest days. For him, the work isn’t just on paper. It’s happening in real time, for real people.

“We have a responsibility,” he says. “To show up. To make sure someone’s grandmother has shelter. To make sure people know they’re not alone.”

For Jamar, National Veterans and Military Families Month is not only about reflection on his time in uniform. It’s about continuity. For him, service means being there when people need you most, whether in a combat zone or a community shelter.