Myka Green, a military spouse and aspiring physician, received the American Red Cross Volunteer of the Month award for November 2025 in San Diego and Imperial counties. Her reconnection with the organization earlier this year amplified support for service members, veterans, and families through the Services to the Armed Forces program at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton. Green's efforts highlight how personal ties to the military drive sustained community service amid ongoing demands on military families.
Roots in Military Service Fuel Red Cross Commitment
As the spouse of an active-duty Marine and daughter of a U.S. Navy veteran, Green draws direct motivation from her family's experiences. She attended UC Berkeley tuition-free thanks to her father's service and trained as a medical assistant via a military spouse scholarship. These benefits inspired her to volunteer with the Red Cross's Services to the Armed Forces, a program that has delivered critical aid to troops and families since World War I, including emergency messaging, financial assistance, and health resources during deployments and crises.
Hands-On Roles Strengthen Hospital and Family Ties
Green staffs the Patient Relations Department at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton multiple shifts weekly, aiding service members, families, and veterans with behavioral health programs, deployment readiness, and Women, Infants, and Children opportunities. She onboarded the Red Cross WIC program there, supports the Medical Professional Volunteer team, and follows up on Hero Care Center emergency messages. Fellow volunteers praised her empathy and leadership, noting her role in emergency community support for military families facing sudden needs.
Global Beginnings Shape Local Impact
Green's Red Cross journey started in 2014 with volunteering alongside the Japanese Red Cross in Japan, where she promoted blood donations at train stations and interned in blood processing centers. The organization's worldwide reach, from disaster relief to armed forces services, drew her in. Today, she engages in base events to promote WIC, participates in Sound the Alarm and Save a Life outreaches for emergency preparedness, and builds hospital partnerships—efforts that echo the Red Cross's century-old mandate under the Geneva Conventions to protect those in conflict zones.
Aspiring Physician Eyes Future Service
Accepted into medical school, Green plans to practice as a physician serving the military community, addressing understaffed hospital departments she witnesses daily. A pivotal moment came at a spousal resource event, when a woman described relying on Red Cross emergency messaging for her deployed husband's leave and WIC for her child—direct proof of her work's reach. She credits supervisor Angela Fie for guiding her toward aligned roles and praises the organization's passionate volunteers, urging others to join for flexible ways to contribute skills amid rising needs in military support networks.
