Belonging Is the Mission: Marcus Haney on Why Community Matters After Service

For many veterans, the transition from military to civilian life feels like stepping into a void.

The structure, the mission, and most of all—the community—disappear overnight. That sense of “we,” which defined military life, is suddenly replaced by a solitary journey through resumes, interviews, and job applications. For Marcus Haney, CEO of AllegiantVets, that gap isn’t just unfortunate—it’s unacceptable.

“I longed for a community to belong to,” Marcus recalls. “I tried to join some of the other veteran communities around town... just wasn’t my cup of tea.”

After being wounded in Afghanistan and navigating his own difficult transition, Marcus returned home to Sacramento with a limp and a mission: transform Allegiant Giving, the nonprofit his parents had started, into something that would address what he—and so many others—were missing.

That’s how AllegiantVets was born: a DOD-authorized SkillBridge program that now supports over 1,500 active service members at a time. But while their resume support and career training are essential, Marcus says the secret ingredient is something else entirely.

“Belonging is sharing wins of the week—no matter how small or how big,” he explains. “We’ve got 700 to a thousand people on a Zoom, cheering each other on. That moment of celebration builds belief for everyone watching. It’s like, ‘I can do it too.’”

That ripple effect—when one veteran’s success becomes the spark for another’s breakthrough—is baked into Allegiant’s culture. It’s a community built not just around service, but shared momentum.

Haney points out that traditional transition programs often isolate service members, pushing them to figure things out alone. But community, he argues, isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a requirement for meaningful transition.

“Our plan for growth is to continue to serve our community—one service member at a time,” he says. “If we can get them connected, get them confident, and help them know they can come back if they need support… we’re doing our job.”

That’s also why Marcus sees such promise in Allegiant’s growing collaboration with Vector Accelerator, which brings introspection, identity work, and purpose-alignment into the transition space. The two organizations have already partnered to serve over 400 transitioning service members in group sessions—and the alignment couldn’t be clearer.

Together, they’re not just preparing veterans for careers. They’re helping them reclaim the “we”—and build something to belong to again.