Since birth, Scott Piper has been ingrained in military life. The son of a 27-year Navy Special Operations Independent Duty Corpsman, or in civilian parlance – a combat medic, the guests at Scott’s first birthday party were a group of burly Navy Seals who joyfully sang happy birthday to the son of their trusted team member. Like many military families, Scott moved often – usually every three years or so.

Despite his dad discouraging him from enlisting, and to instead to use the GI Bill to have a more traditional college experience, Scott decided to sign up.

“I didn’t necessarily join because of my dad, because my dad told me he didn’t want to join,” recounted Scott. “He wanted me to go off to college and make dumb decisions. But I made a different decision, joined the military and followed in his footsteps. I saw what he did, and I knew that he loved it, and I’ve sought that out for myself.”

For 11 years, until he was granted a medical retirement from the Navy in February 2023, Scott served as a corpsman for the Navy and Marine Corps. Shortly after he left the Navy, Scott joined the American Red Cross as a Disaster Program Manager in the Greater New York region, focusing on disasters in the Bronx.

Sometimes it can be hard to connect military experience into a civilian job, but Scott says that the Red Cross offers a more direct parallel between military and civilian work than other potential options.

“Everything I did in the Navy correlates to what I do now,” he continued. “Working at a U.S. Embassy where I would design protocol for mass casualty events and going to mass casualty situations myself on the ground, triaging a situation and organizing things — that’s exactly what I’m doing out in the field. It’s getting all the affected residents into an area, finding out who needs what, creating plans.”

Now, he tells his friends in the military that the Red Cross is a great option for their transition back into civilian life.

“I know a lot of people have a hard transition time when they get out. Sometimes they don’t have a career field that they necessarily want to get into, or something doesn’t translate [into the civilian space],” said Scott. “I finished my degree while I was in, but if you can juggle doing the Red Cross and the degree or just volunteering -- that’s what I suggest to people in the military right now. Stay engaged in a community. Make sure you don’t end up in a position where you’re out there by yourself without a community base to be able to support you and talk with.”

Whether it’s sharing a joke about their time in the service or recognizing obvious signs of military service, like the way someone dresses or their mannerisms, Scott appreciates his fellow veterans working alongside him at the Red Cross.

“I don’t personally look for recognition, but there’s a lot of special people from Vietnam, the Gulf War, the Korean War,” said Scott. “There wasn’t a lot recognized for their service, so I think [taking time to appreciate veterans] is important mainly for them and then especially for the guys in the early Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. I would say if you see somebody walking around with a Vietnam or especially a World War II or Korean War hat, tell them ‘thank you for your service.’ Listen to their stories, they have some stories to tell and they’re happy somebody’s talking to them.”

Are you looking for an opportunity to give back to your community? Put on a red vest and join us. Visit www.redcross.org/volunteer to find a position that fits your interests.