By Mary Jo Blackwood

Mandie Mercier’s son Marius has always wanted to be a soldier. She says he had been playing army since he was two years old. His parents were not so sure this was the path for him. He graduated from high school, went for a year of college, but he still felt this draw. So on his 21^st birthday, he enlisted. When Mandie asked him why he felt so strongly about it, he told her: “Someone has to do it. It might as well be me.”

Still uneasy, Mercier went through the American Red Cross MEPS (Military entrance Processing Command) program. This program familiarizes military families of new enlistees with the Red Cross services available to them. It did a lot to ease her anxiety. Knowing she had access to emergency communications with her son if needed was reassuring.

“During basic training, enlistees are out of communication for most of their ten-week training time. They may only have access to their cellphones once a week or less,” Mercier explained. Through MEPS, Mercier knew she could reach him if she had to.

Marius didn’t take his commitment lightly. Before going in, he completed all the training and certification to be an EMT. That gave him an accelerated path after basic training to become an Army medic. After intensive study, he obtained his Expert Field Medical badge, being one of only seven in his class who finished with no mistakes. He now serves as a combat medic with the 82^nd Airborne stationed at Ft. Bragg.

Mercier thought a lot about her son’s declaration and dedication to serving. After seeing what the Red Cross did for the military and having time on her hands in the mountains of Colorado, she decided it might as well be her, too. Having a son in the military gave her a link to relate with other military families. Her son entered the military in October of 2023. By December, Mercier had been trained and was working as a case worker and MEPS ambassador, calling other families to familiarize them with Red Cross services to the military, including emergency communications and emergency financial aid.

She is now a SAF (Service to Armed Forces) caseworker lead and is in the process of training to be a caseworker for RFL (Restoring Family Links), connecting family members internationally with loved ones affected by uprising or natural disasters. As an immigrant from South Africa, Mercier feels a strong affinity to this work, as well.

Since she started volunteering at the end of 2023, she has logged over 700 hours of volunteer service and feels a real ownership for her work. This dedication to serving is a family affair. Her daughter Mira is at NYU studying law, and planning to specialize in International Humanitarian Law.

“Red Cross gives as much back to me as I contribute. They make it easy for me to volunteer because it is all done remotely from my home in the mountains,” Mercier said. “I’ve made many friends of other Red Cross volunteers and I feel such an affinity with the military families I help.”

If you would like to learn more about our Service to the Armed Forces, please visit redcross.org/saf.