Michael Chen

Michael Chen served our country with honor for twenty-eight years, leading with courage and compassion through three combat deployments. Enlisting at nineteen out of Rainier Beach, Seattle, he rose from private to Master Sergeant — but if you ask the two hundred veterans he has mentored since, his greatest command came after the uniform.

In 2016, while still on active duty, Michael began volunteering at the Seattle Vet Center, guiding transitioning service members through the hardest deployment of all: coming home. His mentorship program has since been adopted by three Vet Centers across Washington State.

“The mission doesn't end when the uniform comes off. It just changes.” — M.C.