Former Green Beret, NFL player Nate Boyer talks parallels between service and sports

As a former Green Beret who served multiple tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Nate Boyer knows all too well the challenges that come from transitioning out of military service. As a former long snapper who started for three years at the University of Texas before spending one preseason with the Seattle Seahawks, he also knows the challenges that come from transitioning out of high-level athletics.

And while there are plenty of differences between the two, Boyer also sees several important similarities: a loss of purpose and identity, an uncertainty around what comes next and how to find one's place in a new phase of life.

"In the moment, you can't really think about [what comes next]," Boyer told Arrowhead Addict from New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX. "When I was out of both — no more military, no more football — that's when it kind of hit me."

Boyer launched Merging Vets and Players (MVP) back in 2015 to help provide an answer that question, both for himself and for other veterans and retired athletes. A decade later, his mission continues.

Nate Boyer hopes to help veterans and retired athletes find new purpose and new careers

Boyer was lucky enough to be able to transition from the military directly to a football career at Texas, even serving in the National Guard in the summers between semesters. When he was let go by the Seahawks, though, he found himself facing the same question that other veterans and retired professional athletes face: "Oh dang, what do I do now?"

Boyer found the answer for himself through MVP, which seeks to help combat veterans and former athletes prepare for a new path outside of the career that had defined their lives for years.

"People kind of see you as this thing: You're an athlete, you're a vet," Boyer said. "You start to tsee yourself as that as well. And then when you're no longer doing that thing, you're like, 'What am I doing now? Where do I start?'"

Adding to that void is the loss of a team environment, of being surrounded by like-minded individuals every day working toward a common goal. MVP hopes to offer that same sense of community, and help make sure as few people as possible fall through the cracks.

Nate Boyer spoke to FanSided on behalf of Merging Vets and Players.