Home Base Nation

Houston, We Have A Solution…For Veteran Mental Health – With Home Base Advocate and Community Leader, Ted Dom

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ted Dom, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:21:04 +0000

Ted Dom and his wife Lynne visited Home Base's National Center of Excellence last week. Ted, along with community volunteer partners Matt Wareing, and former Blue Angels Fleet Leader Eric “Popeye” Doyle have been integral to the building of Home Base programming for mental and brain health for veterans in Texas – arguably just surpassing California as the state with the highest veteran population. It’s clear that Ted's passion for growing local veteran healthcare comes from a combination of compassion, faith, and leadership along way, lessons learned from his business background.

________

Many thanks to Ted Dom and family for serving other military families and veterans along with Home Base.

If you are listening in Texas and you want to help veterans with mental health and brain health and their families, please reach out to us and we will connect you.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for the Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families. Our team sees veterans, service members, and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation. To learn more about how to help, visit us at www.homebase.org. If you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Two Mates, Two Paths, One Shared Mission: with Karate Master Rod Martin and Australian Army Veteran Dr. Kieran McCarthy

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Kieran McCarthy, Rod Martin, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 6 Jan 2026 05:00:00 +0000

In November, Home Base was thrilled to welcome Australian veteran health colleagues to Home Base – GO2/REFORGE co-founders, Rod Martin and Dr. Kieran McCarthy. Rod and Kieran were mates at age 16 in school, and you’ll hear how they went on to parallel paths - rejoining years later as workmates. After medical school Kieran joined the Army, a Medical Officer in the 2nd Commando Regiment. He worked with Special Operator Forces, caring for some of the most elite and wounded soldiers. Rod became a karate master, earning the 7th Dan Black Belt in Gojuryu (Go-Joo-Roo) Karate. Transitioning from the elite athlete world, he took on a new passion - Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Rod and Kieran were the perfect match to develop GO2 Health in 2016– offering interdisciplinary care for all, just like the pro athletes receive, with specific focus on Australian veterans.

_______

Thanks for tuning into Home Base Nation – And for your support of Home Base.

Thank you, Rod Martin and Kieran McCarthy, for your visit to our National Center of Excellence, and your shared passion for healthcare of the veteran and the much-needed transition to home, so common no matter where you serve around the world.

To learn more about GO-2, visit www.go2health.com.au

And for all runners and supporters interested in upcoming Race For Home Base Marathons (Sydney, Berlin, Chicago…) 2026, go to www.homebase.org/raceforhomebase

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Making Waves in Military Mental Health: A Conversation on Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy with Marcus and Amber Capone, Eliza Dushku Palandjian and Mike Allard

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 15:41:09 +0000

Today, we have a special episode recorded in Southern California just after Veterans Day. We gathered the day before the unforgettable 4th Annual Torchbearer Ball, hosted by VETS (Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions), which raised $960,000 for veterans and families with its continued mission to end veteran suicide and support psychedelic-assisted therapy. Our four guests discuss this critical time, and we dial in on the progress and the specific need to expand this care and research. You’ll hear from Marcus Capone, Retired Navy SEAL and co-founder of VETS; Amber Capone, co-founder of VETS, Home Base PAT clinician, and actor Eliza Dushku Palandjian; and COO of Home Base, Michael Allard. We also talk about the impact of PAT for veteran health, from suicide prevention to brain health, in the new documentary, In Waves and War, just released on Netflix, brought to the screen by award-winning directors Jon Schenk and Bonni Cohen. The Washington Post just released its Top 10 movies of 2025, listing this film at #7. So, if you are tuning into this podcast, you will want to see this movie!

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

The views expressed by guests on the Home Base Nation podcast are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation, or any of its officials.

Season Finale: Powerful Words - Scenes From The 2025 Run To Home Base

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:05:58 +0000

Today on HBN, we close out Season 9 with a salute to you all, a Grateful Nation, for showing up and supporting the mission of Home Base.

We look forward to bringing you new conversations and content in the Fall, and we'll welcome back to the mic, Dr. Ron Hirschberg, as we look to Season 10.

On July 26, 2025, 3,000 runners and walkers participated in the 16th annual Run to Home Base, presented by RTX, either in person at historic Fenway Park or virtually around the country. To date, this year's event has raised over $3.6 million - a record-breaking figure for our most critical annual fundraiser - in support of Home Base's mission to heal the invisible wounds of war for Veterans, Service Members, Military Families, and Families of the Fallen at no out-of-pocket cost to them.

5 Days left to donate to the Run To Home Base - every dollar counts! Donate at www.runtohomebase.org.

In this episode you'll hear from Red Sox Broadcaster Tom Caron, who was joined during a Red Sox pregame by Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks and Home Base Captain Kristi Hendriks, both who were guests on this podcast a few episodes ago, as well as Bekah Salwasser of the Red Sox Foundation, and Jack Hammond of the Home Base Program to discuss the impact and importance of the Run to Home Base event.

Next, you'll go to the morning of July 26 at Fenway Park for the introductory ceremony for the Run to Home Base. This year, paying special tribute to Veteran and Service Member First Responders.

You'll hear from Tom Werner, Red Sox Chairman; Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States; our Executive Director, General Jack Hammond; and an incredible testament to the Home Base Mission and a personal journey in getting his life back - with Army Veteran Ezequiel "Zeek" Grimaldo.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for the Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families. Our team sees veterans, service members, and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation. For more information on how you can help, please visit us at www.homebase.org. If you or someone you know needs care, you can reach us at 617-724-5202.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough

Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

The views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast are their own, and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation, or any of its officials.

Home Base Nation Favorites: General Jack Hammond on the "Takin’ A Walk” podcast with Buzz Knight

Wed, 6 Aug 2025 15:18:19 +0000

We are pleased to present this special episode from a podcast headed by our fellow podcaster, friend, and supporter of veterans, Buzz Knight.

Buzz has been a force in media, working as a strategist and a media executive for decades. He has an excellent podcast called "Takin' A Walk", a show that focuses on resilience, mental health, and amazing stories through the healing power of music.

We are fortunate to cross-pollinate with Buzz to share an episode of "Takin' A Walk" where he shares an interview with the Chief Executive Director for the Home Base, retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Jack Hammond.

General Hammond is a decorated combat leader and private sector innovator who has served on advisory groups for presidents, governors, and businesses.

General Hammond led U.S. and NATO forces in combat and counter-terrorism operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes: simultaneously commanding two separate Battalion-level Task Forces on more than one hundred successful intelligence-fused counter-terrorist operations in Iraq.

General Hammond, along with chief operating officer Michael Allard, has led a team of both civilian and military staff to take care of more than 40,000 veterans and their families for more than 15 years.

On the heels of the 16th annual Run To Home Base just the other day at Fenway Park, we realize more than ever how this shared admission is so vital to serve all of those who have been serving and protecting so many and continue to do so.

If you would like to hear more episodes of 'Takin' A Walk,' visit the archives at takinawalk.com.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: Mary Gauthier on the "Takin’ A Walk” podcast with Buzz Knight

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 14:50:29 +0000

We are pleased to present this special episode from a podcast headed by our fellow podcaster, friend, and supporter of veterans, Buzz Knight.

We are fortunate to cross-pollinate with Buzz to share an episode of "Takin' A Walk” where he shares an interview with our friend and previous guest on the Home Base Nation Podcast, Mary Gauthier.

Mary is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, and military family member, as well as a huge supporter of veterans. A New Orleans native, Mary spent many years grappling with spiraling addiction, alcohol, and depression before discovering her gift as a songwriter. Through song, she found that she could express things she was unable to express in other ways and gained new confidence through writing and performing. She has co-written songs with veterans through the Songwriting with Soldiers program.

If you would like to hear more episodes of ‘Takin' A Walk,’ visit the archives at takinawalk.com.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Air Force Veteran and Regional Associate Director, Regional & Tribal Relations, of Home Base Marcus Denetdale, and Cartoonist and Writer Garry Trudeau (part two)

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 15:48:31 +0000

We have published 120 episodes since 2019. For this new season, we thought it would be a good idea to look back on some of the highlights of our conversations and select 20 episodes that resonated with veterans, service members, military families, and the civilians who support them.

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Air Force Veteran and Regional Associate Director, Regional & Tribal Relations, of Home Base Arizona, Marcus Denetdale.

Marcus has been instrumental in facilitating Home Base’s partnership with ASU’s College of Health Solutions to launch the Warrior Health & Fitness program for Arizona Veterans and their families. He has worked closely with tribal Nations and communities in various capacities. As a nonprofit administrator, he has developed college scholarship programs, recruited Native American college students, and secured research grants for higher education projects totaling over $2.4 million.

Marcus has studied civil, environmental, & sustainable engineering within the sustainability specialty area. His research areas include tribal housing, infrastructure & commercial buildings for economic growth and opportunities. His latest project is partnered with ASU to provide safe water access on the Navajo Nation.

Following my conversation with Marcus, you’ll hear part two of an episode from 2023 with the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winner Cartoonist, Garry Trudeau. Ron and Garry talk about gaining the trust from military leadership during wartime, with the opportunity to visit Kuwait during the Gulf War after getting the call directly from the battlefield, and how just like visiting Walter Reed, these are chances to Get it Right in order to follow him or her from service member to veteran and from deployment to home. They discuss how he’s not really that guy who could ever really tell a joke, and where his humor seems to come from, about his love for putting on a show ever since he was a little kid, and how he shares the mission to support veterans with fellow cartoonist (among other things), Jake Tapper.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Admissions Coordinator Zachary Morin, and Cartoonist and Writer Garry Trudeau

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:50:56 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with the Admissions Coordinator at Home Base, Zachary Morin. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Zach spent two years serving with AmeriCorps in the Miami-Dade Public Schools, working with middle school students on literacy, social and emotional development, as well as civic engagement. Upon completing his service, Zachary returned to New England to lead the College Ready Communities program in Northern Rhode Island. Here, his work included holistic programming for vulnerable youth populations and overall community engagement initiatives. He also has a creative/performative side, which he will talk about.

Following my conversation with Zach, you’ll hear an episode from 2023 with the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-winning cartoonist, Garry Trudeau. Garry is also an Army Commander’s Award for Public Service honoree. In this conversation, Garry tells us that not only did his dad and grandfather both serve, but they were also both physicians. He recounts an eye-opening visit to Walter Reed Medical Center, with stories of injury and resilience that not only informed his storytelling but have had lasting impacts on him. As a big fan of author Sebastian Junger, he discusses the innate need for the tribe to survive, and explains a bit of his creative process. Part Two will come shortly.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Staff Psychologist Dr. Drew Teer, and Musician and Marine Veteran Shaggy

Tue, 8 Jul 2025 15:12:26 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

If you are just tuning in to the show, our host, Dr. Ron Hirschberg, and I have reviewed more than 120 published episodes since 2019. We chose 20 or so to share with you again that resonated with veterans, service members, military families, and the civilians who support them.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Dr. Drew Teer who completed his PhD in clinical psychology from Emory University, where he also finished his internship at Emory University's School of Medicine at Grady Memorial Hospital as well as his postdoctoral fellowship with the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program – one of the other Warrior Care Network sites. Drew is passionate about providing science-based treatments for PTSD and other internalizing disorders. His research interests include identifying factors that may influence responses to PTSD treatment and enhancing treatments for underserved and complex trauma populations.

Following my conversation with Dr. Teer, you'll hear an episode with 7-time nominated and 2-time Grammy winner and Marine Veteran, Shaggy. For Shaggy, music has been a vehicle to bring different kinds of people together for a shared experience. But it's not just the music that does this; it's his spirit and grit, which were undoubtedly shaped by his Marine background.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Registered Dietitian and Manager of Clinical and Culinary Nutrition at Home Base Nicolette Maggiolo and radio DJ and podcaster Mistress Carrie

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 13:59:14 +0000

Welcome back to Home Base Nation! This is our sixth episode in a series where we talk with some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, regardless of their role at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond. Over the next several weeks, we will share the staff conversations I had with some of the hardworking professionals at Home Base who help treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Registered Dietitian and Manager of Clinical and Culinary Nutrition for the Home Base Program Nicolette Maggiolo, serving those in the Home Base Intensive Clinical Program, New England Warrior Health & Fitness Program, and Outpatient Clinic. Additionally, Nicolette has authored a Limited edition Home Base Cookbook that features over 100 original recipes with reflections from veterans and military families. With all proceeds benefiting Home Base. It even has a bonus dog treat recipe for your pup, honoring our beloved Home Base dog Gatsby. Woof. The cookbook was available at Stop and Shop in honor of Military Appreciation Month and once more become available we will share it here.

Following my conversation with Nicolette, you’ll hear an episode with Rock DJ and podcast host Mistress Carrie. A vehement supporter of U.S. troops and veterans, Mistress Carrie wanted to find a way to give back, and in 2006 she made her way to Iraq, as the first non-news journalist embedded with troops there, before "deploying" for a second time in Afghanistan in 2011, where she met Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond, who was leading command in Kabul at the time. Back in 2022, she stopped by the Home Base Center of Excellence to speak with Ron and General Hammond to speak about why supporting veterans matters so much and how she views service.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet SLP on the Brain Health Team at Home Base Grace O'Halloran, and Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:19:09 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Grace O'Halloran, a Speech Language Pathologist on the Brain Health Team at Home Base. A University of New Hampshire graduate, Grace earned her Master's in Speech-Language Pathology in 2023 at the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

Following my conversation with Grace, you'll hear one of our first episodes on the show featuring Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis.

In her second deployment to Afghanistan in June 2012, Kirstie sustained polytraumatic injuries from a helicopter crash, including traumatic brain injury, facial and spine injuries, and leg trauma that eventually left her with an amputation above the knee.

After being injured overseas, Kirstie went on to become a Paralympian snowboarder, a proud contestant at Prince Harry's 2016 Invictus Games, a Pat Tillman Awardee for Service, and a member of a Veteran team on a 1,000-mile trek across Great Britain with the organization Walking With The Wounded.

In Honor of National Women Veterans Recognition Day on June 12th, we are thrilled to re-run this Episode with Kirstie.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Family Support Team Manager at Home Base Stacie Frederiksson, and storyteller and filmmaker Spike Lee.

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 13:27:51 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond. Welcome back to Home Base Nation!

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Air Force Veteran and Family Support Team Manager, Stacie Frederiksson, who has worked in the non-profit arena serving veterans and their families for the past 15 years. Stacie served 14 years on active duty in the Air Force as an intelligence officer, supporting flying and space operations, before transferring to the Air Force Reserves, where she spent the last 9 years of her career at USCYBERCOM, retiring in 2016.

Following the conversation with Stacie, you'll hear an episode featuring award-winning storyteller and filmmaker Spike Lee, recorded in London, England, in 2019. Home Base caught up with the legendary director before the first-ever Red Sox–Yankees game at the London Stadium. Although we were not happy with the series outcome, Mr. Lee was indeed a lifelong Yankee fan. Ron and Spike discuss some of the history of service by Black Americans and get a preview of his Vietnam War Film, early released at the time, Da5Bloods.

Many thanks to Stacie Frederiksson for all her work at Home Base in support of this mission to stomp stigma and treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Veteran Outreach Coordinator at Home Base Marc Moyer, and retired Air Force Reserve Major and TAPS founder Bonnie Carroll.

Tue, 3 Jun 2025 13:04:13 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Marc Moyer, a U.S. Army Veteran who served with the 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq and is now a Veteran Outreach Coordinator at Home Base. Following my conversation with Marc, you'll hear an episode featuring Bonnie Carroll, a retired major in the Air Force Reserve and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, also known as TAPS. This organization has created a vital support network for those mourning the loss of a military loved one.

Many thanks to Marc Moyer for all his work at Home Base in support of this mission to stomp stigma and treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

A "Match" for Life - Two Families, Two Dads, Two Sons - And One US/UK Mission at the Liverpool Football Club

Fri, 23 May 2025 18:51:26 +0000

This Episode is dedicated to the memory and honor of the service of Dan Allen and Dominic Snyder.

Special Thank You to the Liverpool Football Club and the Royal British Legion for hosting these families.

"Thank you to the amazing organizations of TAPS, SSAFA, and Home Base for bringing together healed hearts and healed families." - Dustin Snyder.

The 2nd Annual Run To Anfield is coming up – August 2nd, 2025 – so join us, run, walk, or support us virtually from anywhere in the world, especially if you're a Liverpool fan, of course.

Go to: www.liverpoolfc.com/foundation/run-anfield

______________

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Clinical Social Worker Kate Basile, and the journalist, author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger

Tue, 20 May 2025 12:13:31 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

Over the next twenty weeks, we will share the staff conversations I had with some of the hardworking professionals at Home Base, who help treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Clinical Social Worker Kate Basile, who works in the Intensive Clinical Program at Home Base. This will be followed by our very first episode, in which we sat with journalist, author, and filmmaker Sebastian Junger.

Many thanks to Kate Basile for all her work at Home Base in support of this mission to stomp stigma and treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please visit homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or someone you know is struggling.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Home Base Marine Veteran Alexander Hohl, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and the Dr. David King and David "Big Papi" Ortiz episode

Tue, 13 May 2025 17:23:03 +0000

We have published 120 episodes since 2019. For this new season, we thought we would look back on some of the highlights of our conversations and choose 20 episodes that resonated with veterans, service members, military families, and the civilians who support them.

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

Over the next twenty weeks, we will share these staff conversations I had with some of the hard-working professionals at Home Base who help treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

For this episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Home Base Marine Veteran Alexander Hohl, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, followed by one of the earlier episodes, in which Ron sat with the US Army Colonel and Combat Surgeon Dr. David King and Red Sox legend David "Big Papi" Ortiz. Boston just celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, and we felt it a good time to re-share the episode that remembers the Boston Marathon bombing and the inspiration Big Papi brought to the city during that time.

Many thanks to Alexander Hohl for all his work at Home Base to support this mission to stomp stigma and treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please go to homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or anyone you know is struggling.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for the Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families. Our team sees veterans, service members, and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation. If you want to learn more about how you can help, visit us at www.homebase.org. If you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation Favorites: First meet Home Base Director of Veteran Outreach Jessica Covitz and the Bob and Lee Woodruff episode

Tue, 6 May 2025 19:38:57 +0000

But first up, you'll hear from some of the folks at Home Base who wake up every day with the same mission in mind, no matter what they do at the Center of Excellence in the Navy Yard and beyond.

For this first episode, you will hear a brief conversation with Home Base Navy Veteran Jessica Covitz, Director of Veteran Outreach. This will be followed by one of the earlier episodes, in which Ron sat with the incomparable Bob and Lee Woodruff of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Many thanks to Jessica Covitz for all her work at Home Base in support of this mission to stomp stigma and treat the invisible wounds of veterans and military families.

Run To Home Base: Join Ron and his team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base on July 26th, 2025, at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please go to homebase.org for updates, programming, and resources if you or anyone you know is struggling.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for the Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families. Our team sees veterans, servicemembers, and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation. If you want to learn more about how you can help, visit us at www.homebase.org. If you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

All-Star Strength and Support: On and Off the Mound - With Kristi and Liam Hendriks

rhirschberg@partners.org (Kristi Hendriks, Liam Hendriks, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 19:35:18 +0000

Three-time All-Star Pitcher, Six-time Roberto Clemente Award nominee, (and Run to Home Base Captain) Liam Hendriks, and entrepreneur and philanthropist Kristi Hendriks join Dr. Ron Hirschberg for a conversation at Home Base. As the Red Sox welcome Liam to the team, he and Kristi reflect on living the baseball life over the years including the comaradarie and the challenges, the causes they support, and how military lineage runs in their families. Liam talks about his own battle against Stage IV non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2022, and the return to pitching the following year along with Kristi's ongoing support. Kristi highlights the key bonds with fellow baseball wives and the special connection to each community, and both Liam and Kristi share their love for the Bruins and how they enjoy kicking back to watch a great hockey game.

Many thanks to Kristi and Liam Hendriks for visiting us at Home Base and for your support of this mission to stomp stigma, treat invisible wounds of veterans and military families, and be part of a growing team charged with saving lives. Best of luck Liam in the upcoming 2025 Season after reporting at Pitchers and Catchers - in just a few weeks.

Thank you to our friends and partners at the Red Sox Foundation for all you do for Home Base and all the communities you serve in healthcare, children in need and education. To learn more about the Foundation, please go to redsoxfoundation.org

And join Kristi and her team and sign up individually or on another team at the 16th annual Run To Home Base that will be July 26th 2025 at Fenway Park! Go to runtohomebase.org

Please go to homebase.org for updates, programming, and recourses if you or anyone you know is struggling in anyway.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families – Our team sees veterans, servicemembers and their families addressing the invisible wounds of war at no cost. This is all made possible thanks to a grateful nation – And if you want to learn more on how you can help, visit us at www.homebase.org, or if you or anyone you know would like to connect to care, you can also reach us at 617-724-5202.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

The views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation or any of its officials.

Influencing the Homosapien! - With Lieutenant Commander (Ret) Evangelo “Vann” Morris

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 7 Jan 2025 05:00:00 +0000

Kicking off 2025, Navy Veteran Vann Morris sits with Dr. Ron Hirschberg and talks about his journey from young sailor, to Lieutenant Commander, and a man on a mission to heal America through his patriotism and infectious personality. Vann is a teacher, preacher, and leader. Retired after 30 years, his last 3 tours were at the Pentagon, the 82nd Airborne Division in Bagram, Afghanistan, and US Special Operations Command. Vann talks about love for country, family and the fact that we all should be aware that our best friend and our worst enemy are actually the same person – ourselves. He talks about the power of influence and how it can be used for good, and how when it comes to veteran suicide, it’s about making ourselves more approachable than we think we are, and therefore to ask each other if we are not doing OK.

______

Many thanks to Navy Veteran Vann Morris for sitting with me, along with Army Veteran and wife Rita Morris. Thank you for your ongoing service in many ways, your leadership and lessons to both kids and adults – And for your whole family’s military service. You can learn all about Vann, his life and work at healingamerica.com.

Please go to homebase.org for updates, programming, and recourses if you or anyone you know is struggling in anyway.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Holiday Replay: Operation Christmas Drop!

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:51:35 +0000

This week three years ago, we told the story of “Operation Christmas Drop” after discovering the oldest ongoing Department of Defense mission - the world’s longest running humanitarian airdrop - to deliver critical supplies to remote islands in the Pacific. On 12/14/24, Operation Christmas Drop at Andersen Airforce Base in Guam was another success, and the 73rd annual drop delivered 220 bundles to 58 islands, helping more than 42,000 people. Ron Hirschberg and Lucy Little told this story in 2021 including Zoom interviews east to Guam with (now) former President of OCD2021 Air Force Capt. Matt Carrowan, and north to Canada with the 2021 Netflix Movie "Operation Christmas Drop" Director, Martin Wood. Happy holidays all and enjoy this amazing story of giving, and making a true difference for thousands of people every year.

Operation Christmas Drop - Official Trailer / Netflix

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Brain Health Summit 2024 Conversations – Marine Veteran and Chief Programs Officer of Navy SEAL Foundation Alison Messick, Command Chief Master Sergeant (Ret) Greg Smith

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:23:24 +0000

Home Base Brain Health Summit 2024 Conversations: Marine Veteran and Chief Programs Officer of Navy SEAL Foundation Alison Messick, and Command Chief Master Sergeant (Ret) Greg Smith. On September 11th 2024, Home Base held its first Brain Health Summit. Spearheaded by Home Base Senior Directors Dr. Sofia Matta and Retired Navy Captain Dr. Joe Bonvie – The Summit highlighted brain health but at the same time aimed to cover the whole person: Mind, body, and soul – Targeting not just longer lifespan, but living well longer, or… HealthSpan.

First Up: Chief Program Officer of Navy SEAL Foundation Alison Messick. Alison is a Marine Veteran, and has been a leader in the Special Operations space for 15 years including her time at Naval Special Warfare prior to the Foundation. When Alison took the mic at the Brain Health Summit, she gave a captivating talk about Collective Impact when it comes to doing right by this community as collaborators not competitors. Alison Messick networks for success and listens to her fellow leaders in order to work together for all things – as she tells us - energy giving…

Second Up: Command Chief Master Sergeant (Ret) Greg Smith – looks back at the time he was called to lead the first team deployed after the twin tower attacks, while at the same time reflects on military and civilian medical “wins” over stigma and addressing invisible rounds. From operator to senior leader at USSOCOM, to his current work at the Pentagon with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he has been a trusted voice in the Special Operations community - And we are honored to now have Greg as a member of the Home Base Honorary board.

Many thanks to Greg Smith and Alison Messick for your years of service and leadership, and ongoing partnership – Humans are more important that hardware is a driving core principle of USSCOM and something you both not only believe in, you walk the walk in every day. Special thanks to Sofia Matta and Joe Bonvie for all your work in putting together the first annual Brain Health conference at Home Base.

Please go to homebase.org for updates, programming, and of courses if you or anyone you know is struggling in anyway.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Speaking The Same Languages - With Marine Veteran Jaime Fernandez

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Ron Hirschberg, Marine Veteran Jaime Fernandez) — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Marine Veteran and Home Base Florida colleague Jaime Fernandez came up to Boston this month to help bring to fruition the first Spanish speaking veteran two-week Intensive Clinical Program. Born in Nicaragua, Jaime moved to Miami at age 6, and after high school joined the Marines in 2001. After 3 tours in Iraq and back home, he would pursue degree in Human Performance at Florida Gulf Coast University, which launched a prolific career in strength and conditioning with Red Sox affiliate in Greenville, SC. In 2015, he joined Home Base Southwest Florida led by fellow Marine Veteran Armando Hernandez. As a bilingual veteran, Jaime continues to speak the language of service in both English and Spanish, while speaking other languages of mindfulness, meditation, and fitness.

Many thanks to Marine Veteran and fellow Home Base colleague Jaime Fernandez for your service and ongoing service to so many veterans and military families.

A special shout out to ICP director Laura Harward for all you do to lead innovative programs, and the Home Base Boston team, including Elizabeth Valencia, Nilea Silva, Kelly Sarsfield, Kassandra Iliadis, Clare Stupinski, Dr. Stephanie Stamph, Army Veteran Katrina Echevarria, Navy Veteran Jessica Covitz, Luiza Welton – with support from Home Base Florida with Armando Hernandez, and Angie DeLima. Also thanks to Wounded Warrior Project for helping Home Base make Puerto Rico veteran outreach possible.

And thanks to Drs. Rachel Millstein and April Hirschberg for your leadership in mind body health and wellness. Make sure to check out a full spectrum of meditations curated by the Home Base team, and HBN editor and producer Chuck Clough, at homebase.org/meditations. Please feel free to sign up for Resilience programming at homebase.org/program/rwarrior, and of note in February 2025 when Jaime leads the first Spanish speaking Resilient Warrior course.

_____

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

“Oh By The Way” – With Navy Veterans and Pilots Chrystal Campbell and Mike Campbell, Former President of the Blue Angels Foundation

Mon, 11 Nov 2024 18:26:48 +0000

Happy Veterans Day! Chrystal and Mike Campbell are two Navy veterans who grew up with service on their minds, became pilots, and met while sharing the same hanger in Pensacola, FL. Mike was a Naval flight officer after graduating Wesleyan in 1981 and selected as a Blue Angel in 1987. In 1980, Chrystal was one of the first 55 women to graduate from the Naval Academy. She first served in the Philippines, and then became flight instructor, and impressed with Mike during back-seat-training, midflight. Mike talks about the daily Blue Angels debrief ritual after a long day of training – The "Oh By The Way" - That moment at the end of each meeting, when everyone is allotted time to offer whatever is on their mind, some challenge of the day or week, something personal or something special – To a circle of trust and support.

_____

Many thanks to Chrystal and Mike Campbell for your service, and ongoing service to so many veterans and military families since 2016, enabling transitioning, mental health, and family support. Your leadership gives hope for more healing to our wounded warriors, and at the same time teaches all of us that we can not only get a little better every day, we should strive to trust each other in order to have that Oh By The Way moment no matter who we are, or what we do.

The Blue Angels Foundation is an all-volunteer Board composed of former Blue Angels and Honorary Blue Angels. Their philosophy is to give back to the next generation of warriors who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedoms. The Foundation has been supporting causes from Cystic Fibrosis to Breast Cancer - And since 2016 has been targeting that support to transitioning warriors and their families to home and daily life, and making it possible for so many to receive expert assessment and treatment at Home Base and our partners in the Warrior Care Network. Learn more at www.blueangelsfoundation.org

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

A Conversation with Bruce Grobbelaar - Rhodesian Army Veteran and Legendary Liverpool Football Club Goalkeeper

rhirschberg@partners.org (Bruce Grobbelaar, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:23:14 +0000

It’s fitting that the melodic lyric connecting Liverpool Football Club fans is "You’ll Never Walk Alone," when chatting with Football Veteran (and Army Veteran) Goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, who joined the Rhodesian Army in 1975, speaking about bonded brotherhood during bloody conflict – While in an ambush, Bruce yelled to a buddy, “When we get out of here, I’d like to play football for Liverpool.” Fast forward to 1980, and the great LFC Coach Bob Paisley spotted Bruce warming up in the rain under an umbrella, and from that moment on, that figherfight banter 5 years earlier became a reality. Over 14 years, Bruce and LFC won 6 Premier League championship and many other major trophies. As an Army Veteran of the current Zimbabwe who experienced trauma on both battlefield and the pitch during 2 horrific stadium tragedies, Bruce’s own life was saved by football, owing much to the fans who support him and his iconic team.

_________

Many thanks to Bruce Grobbelaar for sitting with me in the great city of Liverpool and teaching us about brotherhood, the religion of football, and even getting to sing together from South African sounds of Paul Simon to his adopted homeland sound of The Beatles. Bruce has an autobiography you can check out in 2019 called: Life in a Jungle: My Autobiography. And for a good read about Bruce, football and the Rhodesian War, I recommend an article from that same year in The Guardian.

A very special thank you to Rob Glover – our friend from Boston and Liverpool for all you do in helping and connecting with others, who graciously connected us with Bruce.

And of course, thank you to our Chief Development Officer at Home Base for the great work you and team do with LFC Foundation partners, Karianne Kraus.

To learn more about the Run to Anfield and find out about next year’s event, you can go to: https://www.liverpoolfc.com/foundation

And we didn’t forget to find the Anfield Rap with Goalkeeper, Jungle-Man, Bruce Grobbelaar to take us out!

MUSIC:

You'll Never Walk Alone - Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1945 / Gerry and The Pacemakers, 1963

_________

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is Back! / In The News / All-Star Forum Honoring Women Service Members and Veterans

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Home Base Nation is Back with its 8th Season and 110th Episode of the show. In this episode Dr. Ron Hirschberg reviews some of the news and updates from Home Base since summer, highlighting the All-Star Forum Honoring Women Service Members and Veterans on 7-26-24 at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway just prior to the 15th Annual Run To Home Base. This powerhouse panel was hosted by former ABC News Chief Health and Medical Correspondent / Emmy Award Winning Journalist, Dr. Jen Ashton. On September 11th, Drs. Sofia Matta and Joe Bonvie launched the 1st Annual Home Base Brain Health Summit which was a big success. Later in September at the Seaport in Boston, the New England Council honored General Jack Hammond as one of the recipients of the esteemed "New Englander of the Year Award." We had a bittersweet farewell to Chief of TBI Services Dr. Ross Zafonte at Home Base is heading to Missouri as Medical School Dean, and a recent pivotal visit by Senator Elizabeth to Warren Spaulding Rehabiliation Hospital for a Forum on Blast Injury and Special Operator Health along with Dr. Zafonte and others. Thanks for your support and tuning in to our 8th Season kick-off!

In The News at Home Base!

First, if you didn’t know – In 2015 Home Base opened its doors in Fort Meyers, Florida, more recently expanded to Tampa, and now working with partners in Pensacola. This month our Home Base colleagues and all the community they serve are on our minds - in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton – Resilience and recovery is what our teams do for patients – But building back up your own body, mind and soul is another challenge - that is necessary to help take care of others. So, Marine Veteran Armando Hernandez heads up the FL team, thinking of you all.
On September 11 and 12, the brainchild of Drs. Sofia Matta and Joe Bonvie – The 1st Annual Home Base Brain Health Summit, was a great success. With local and national experts at the podium, the Summit recognized the evolution of military medicine since 9/11, and focused on brain health and performance medicine in the Special Operations community, and a strong emphasis on not just living long, but living well – something we focus a lot of energy on at Home Base – Healthspan. Check out link here: https://homebase.org/events/brain-health-summit/
Later in September, at the New England Council’s massive event in the Boston Seaport, General Jack Hammond was one of the annual recipients the New Englander of the Year Award. Chairman of the Boston Red Sox and Co-Founder of Home Base Tom Werner’s words summed it up, introducing our Executive Director: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHMYXDC6MBQ
Last week, we said our bittersweet farewells to Dr. Ross Zafonte who is heading to Missouri to lead the medical school. Ross received the prestigious Warren Award at Home Base from General Hammond and Michael Allard. AND, last month, Senator Warren visited Spaulding Rehab Hospital for a Forum on Blast Injury and Special Operator Health with Dr. Zafonte. Take a Listen: Senator Elizabeth Warren Forum at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in collaboration with Home Base (youtube.com)

__________

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Learning to Juggle, Learning to Lead - With Air Force Veteran and Harvard Professor of Emergency Medicine Dr. Ali Raja

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Ali Raja, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 04:00:00 +0000

In Season 7's final episode, Dr. Ron Hirschberg sits with Dr. Ali Raja, MGH's Executive Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine, in his office in the heart of the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital, est. 1811... 159 years prior to establishing Emergency Medicine training programs in 1970. Dr. Raja's life and work are discussed, from growing up in Houston looking towards an Air Force career - a family legacy - to a journey into medicine, business, service, and leadership - while along the way juggling all the balls in the air with his eye always on the most important (and delicate) "glass ball" - his family.

Thanks very much for joining today on our final episode of Season 7 of Home Base Nation. Many thanks to Dr. Ali Raja for your service and ongoing service to your staff at MGH and of course the patients who come in every day to the ED who may be unlucky to be there, but lucky to have you and your team at the bedside. Learn more about Dr. Ali Raja

And on behalf of Home Base, thank you to all who’ve served. Hoping to see you at the 15th Annual Run To Home Base on July 27th at Fenway Park. You can still Run virtually with us and donations are accepted and appreciated – Go To: www.runtohomebase.org.

____

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Listening Back to the Women of Home Base Nation and Looking Ahead to the 2024 Run To Home Base

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 9 Jul 2024 23:23:30 +0000

Let’s rewind 5 years-back on conversations that stick with us at Home Base, with amazing women who leave a mark on service, sacrifice and leadership, and teach us how recovery and resilience become a reality. (With - 77th USS Constitution Commander Billie J. Farrell / Air Force Veteran and TAPS Founder Bonnie Carroll / Army Veteran, Author and Cancer Survivor Brandi Benson / Navy Veteran, Home Base Marathoner, and Commercial Truck Driver Yuma Haidara / Army Veteran / Army Veteran and America’s Got Talent Finalist and Singer Christal Rheams / Marine Veteran, Paralympian and Adventurer Kirstie Ennis / Army Active Duty Soldier and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Sagen Maddelana / Marine Veteran, Pilot and Founder of Dogs on Deployment Alisa Johnson). Thank You all for listening today and we hope to see you at Fenway Park on July 27th for the 15th Annual Event. And remember, you can also join us virtually from anywhere - to Run, Walk, Support and Share in a common mission to stomp stigma and address the invisible wounds of war affecting Women and Men, Children and Families of all who’ve served.

Kicking off this episode with Executive Director of Home Base, US Army Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond.

This month, we will continue our commitment to celebrate those who have served and are serving at the 15th annual Run to Home Base presented by RTX – our unique 9K run and 5K run/walk through Boston that ends with the unforgettable experience of crossing “home base” at historic Fenway Park. On Saturday, July 27, we will once again gather at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” for this moving occasion and, special to our 15th year, will honor Women Veterans and Service Members.

The day prior to the Run, we will host an All-Star Forum honoring Women Veterans and Service Members alongside the Red Sox Foundation. This panel discussion, hosted by Emmy-Award winning journalist and former ABC News Chief Health and Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, will highlight the triumphs and challenges; accomplishments and sacrifices; and future of women’s service.

We are thrilled to announce this esteemed panel of five women –

General Mary K. Izaguirre (Army Surgeon General)
Major Sidney Jacques (Army Ranger)
Kaci Clark (Army Veteran, former pilot in the 160th SOAR, West Point Grad)
Jennifer Silva (Army Veteran, current Chief Program Officer for Wounded Warrior Project, West Point Grad)
Lieutenant Madison Marsh (Air Force Academy Graduate … And First member of the US Military to become Miss America)

CLICK HERE:To submit a question for the forum and stay tuned for details on how to watch it.

The weekend’s events will culminate with a poignant, on-field pregame ceremony to recognize the service and sacrifice of Women Veterans and Service Members before the hometown Boston Red Sox take on their fiercest rival, the New York Yankees. If you are a Woman Veteran or Service Member interested in joining us for the ceremony.

CLICK HERE: for a chance to join us.

_____

Home Base Nation will be sharing episodes every two weeks up through the Run To Home Base this coming July 27th. Please sign up to join us there to support all veteran, servicemember and family care, and as we celebrate women in the military this year.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Healing Invisible Wounds With The Common Language of Music - Featuring Ukrainian Hospital Medical Director and Pianist Dr. Bohdan

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Bohdan, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 18:24:41 +0000

In May 2024, Dr. Jarone Lee from Mass General Hospital Center for Global Health, and Global Response Medicine welcomed a Ukrainian of doctors to Boston for two weeks – to train, collaborate and build comradery for care on the frontlines. One of those physicians, Dr. Bohdan, asked if there was a piano he could play while visiting Boston. It turned out that it had been two years since he last played, which was just following the Russian invasion in February 2022. Along with colleagues at Berklee College of Music, Home Base cohosted a memorable performance and conversation about trauma and resilience in war, and how music is a common language that connects and heals people, across generations.

___

Many thanks to - Andrea Leiner, Dr. Steve Donnelly and Kelsey Gonzalez of the amazing organization Global Response Medicine, and your team for all you do to bring together the right people, from US Special Operators to Medical partners and staff from around the world, and of course for facilitating this unforgettable visit from our Ukrainian friends.

Thank you Dr. Jarone Lee of MGH Center for Global Health and Health Tech Without Borders for visiting Home Base and shining the light on acute medical need wherever it may be….

We are so grateful for our music-medicine partners in Boston – The Berklee Music and Health Institute, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, with special thanks Dr. Joy Allen and her team – Professor Brian Jantz, Clinical Director of Music Therapy Cynthia Koskela, and Christina Quarles.

And of course thank you to Home Base Communications Director and Army Veteran Kelly Field.

For video content of this episode, Here is YouTube version with cinematography and production by Luke Zvara.

This episode was edited by Chuck Clough.

___

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Not Your Average Day Job: With Two-Time Superbowl Champion and Navy Reservist Joe Cardona

rhirschberg@partners.org (Joe Cardona, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:45:46 +0000

There are 56,254 Navy Reserves, with typical civilian jobs in law enforcement, medicine, government, and business. One day-job not commonly on the list: Pro-Football. Enter Joe Cardona, who joined the New England Patriots as the 2nd highest-drafted long snapper in NFL history in 2015, and as a Reservist heads up Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron-Eight in Newport, RI overseeing 500 sailors. As the NFL's 13th annual Salute To Service Award recipient presented by USAA, Joe talks about teammates and brotherhood, service, getting the mental health you need, and what leadership means both on and off the football field.

___

Many thanks to Patriots long snapper, Navy LT Joe Cardona for your ongoing service and to those who’ve served, using actions more than words and for being both creative and genuine in your support. You may not be a Navy veteran yet but you definitely are a Patriots veteran, and Home Base wishes you, the team and your family all the best for this coming season.

Special Thanks to Karianne Kraus, Chief Development Officer at Home Base for your support, connecting with great people like Joe serving those who've served!

___

Salute to Service represents the NFL's unwavering dedication to honoring, empowering, and connecting with our nation's service members, veterans, and their families. It is grounded in deep partnerships with the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), Pat Tillman Foundation (PTF), Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), United Service Organizations (USO) and Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). Since 2011, more than $66 million has been raised for these Salute to Service partners.

------

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis honored at National Memorial Day Concert / The Invisible and Visible Wounds in Ukraine - With Yuliia Matvieieva: VP of Medical and Veteran Affairs at Volia Fund

rhirschberg@partners.org (Yuliia Matvieieva, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 27 May 2024 20:21:10 +0000

The National Memorial Day Concert features Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis and others and a conversation with Yuliia Matvieieva, working with Ukrainian Veteran Amputees on mental and physical health - Nearly 60,000 people have lost limbs over the the past two years since the Russian envarion of Ukraine in February 2022, the vast majority being servicemembers. Yuliia came to Home Base during a two week Ukrainian physician visit to MGH, a collaboration with Global Response Medicine, the W.H.O. and our colleague at MGH Center for Global Health, Dr. Jarone Lee. Yuliia finished medical school in Ukraine in 2013, and has been in the US for the past 8 years – now focusing on the mental and physical health for this massive group of veterans with limb loss. Yuliia and Ron sat for a conversation about life before the War in 2014, and how the Big War in 2022 changed everything. As a military-mental health specialist, she runs peer support for Ukrainian veteran amputees with non-profit Volia Fund, who’s mission is the protect and boost wellbeing in Ukraine.

Many thanks Yuliia Matvieieva for you ongoing service to those who’ve served. And thank you for telling your story about perseverance and your new chapter, while helping so many others get back to a new normal life and reintegrate back to their own.

Thank you Dr. Jarone Lee of MGH Center for Global Health and Health Tech without borders, and Deputy Director of Global Response Medicine Andrea Leiner for making this special visit from Kharkiv to Boston possible.

Thanks for joining us everyone. And on Memorial Day - Today and every day we honor our fallen heroes and the families who have supported them. Have a great couple weeks folks and see you next time. This is Ron Hirschberg at Home Base.

____

And of course, Home Base Nation will continue to share episodes every two weeks up through the Run to Home Base this coming July 27th. Please sign up to join us there to support all veterans, servicemembers and families, and as we celebrate and honor women in the military this year in 2024.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Crossing Your Own Ocean - With Army Veteran Bryan Fuller and Dr. John Lowry

Tue, 14 May 2024 14:18:11 +0000

Bryan Fuller and John Lowry met in kindergarten on the north shore of Massachusetts in 1974. They were living the adventurous life back in elementary school, getting home just before dark – most of the time. After rooming together at UMass-Amherst, John’s path would eventually lead to medicine and Bryan to Army intelligence during the Bosnian War.

It’s now been 50 years since these two buddies met - and along with Klara Anstey from Wales and Elizabeth Gilmore from Virginia, they are about to venture across the Atlantic Ocean on the first fully human-powered boat traveling from Boston to London... on June 1. Join them for a conversation with Dr. Ron Hirschberg at Home Base Program for Veterans and Family Care, on supporting the care of the invisible and visible wounds - and crossing one's own ocean.

Bryan is raising awareness for mental health, PTSD and the invisible wounds on this journey with his team, and this trip will directly help support Community Rowing Inc. (CRI) - the very organization that supported HIM in 2011...

-----

Many thanks to Bryan Fuller and John for visiting us at Home Base and bringing us back to their first days of friendship in 1974, to an epic 5-part journey across the Atlantic in 2024. Talking about crossing an ocean for many reasons, and for many people who need our support is something I will never forget - Please follow this crew with us throughout their journey – Visit www.longcallingrow.com for daily updates, photos and videos all the way from Boston to London.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

DEFENSEMEN: With Boston Bruins Alum and 1970 Stanley Cup Winner Rick Smith, and Navy Captain (Ret.) Dr. Joe Bonvie

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Joe Bonvie, Rick Smith, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:36:55 +0000

We had the pleasure to host Kingston, Ontario’s own Boston Bruins Stanley Cup winner Rick Smith at Home Base recently, and sit with our own Senior Director of Clinical Services Navy Capt (Ret.) Dr. Joe Bonvie. Joe and Rick talk about the mental and physical toll on the mind and body that happens in and outside the rink. Rick tells us about his journey post-retirement in the woods up north, and how finding new identity and purpose that he always had in hockey for years was far from easy to come by. Rick and Joe talk about a social hub of sorts in Kandahar, Afghanistan that existed for years on a military base with a full-sized ball-hockey rink transported by the Canadians in 2007, and how bringing the Stanley Cup with them overseas was good medicine for many in need.

A happy 100th Anniversary to the mighty Boston Bruins, as they lead 3:1 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, facing off TONIGHT April 30th at Game 5! Here is our conversation with Rick Allen and Joe Bonvie on hockey, brotherhood, competition, and comradery.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

On The Road Again: With Navy Veteran, Home Base Marathoner, and Commercial Truck Driver Yuma Haidara

rhirschberg@partners.org (Navy Veteran Yuma Haidara, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 16:53:55 +0000

In this episode, Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with Navy Veteran and 7-time marathoner Yuma Haidara about her journey to the Navy, nursing, and a path to a career in commercial truck driving with Walmart. Yuma sees the road in front of her as an opportunity, and at the same time with just enough adventure. She holds a unique balance of bonding with fellow veterans, while finding strength on her own, trucking cross country, running anywhere from 3.1 to 26.2-mile races, and building her own business of organic skincare products, “A Yummy Life.” Yuma's strength also comes from confronting vulnerability and accepting the fact that asking for help makes us stronger.

Many thanks Navy Veteran Yuma Haidara for your service in many ways, and how you always see the road as a new opportunity for helping others as you take care of yourself at the same time.

You can connect with Yuma on Instagram @Yumahaidara – links to A Yummy Life, other podcasts and articles including Women’s Running Magazine she has been featured in and more…

Thank you to the Nashua Public Library for your hospitality for this conversation, and of course thanks to the great people at Walmart who have helped so many people into and post-pandemic as trusted employers and support system.

_____

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Rhythm And Resilience: With Healing Arts Practitioner/Songwriter Lauren Monroe and Def Leppard Drummer Rick Allen

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Lauren Monroe, Rick Allen) — Tue, 2 Apr 2024 17:03:57 +0000

In this episode, Dr. Ron Hirschberg sits with Lauren Monroe and Rick Allen: Couple, and Cofounders of Raven Drum Foundation, leading events to heal and build resiliency through the arts for 23 years. Prior to experiencing a community drum circle with over 70 veterans and 1st responders hosted by philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr., Lauren takes us to 2001 - helping Rick through his own trauma with mindfulness, and describes mind-heart-coherence for ourselves and community. Rick reminds us that we are rhythmic beings, how he's seen people open up in a sacred space that the drum circles create, and how in 2006 a visit to Walter Reed Medical Center connected him to injured veterans in a powerful way, bringing us further back to the 1984 accident when he lost his arm, went through rehabilitation, PTSD and discovered new possibilities for a continued career with Def Leppard. Lauren tells us about next identities and training yourself to be the warrior you need to be, and how people can heal their own pain through helping others, and about her song Brave's echoing line, "Shine the light through the dark, and carry what's been broken apart."

_______

Many thanks To Lauren Monroe and Rick Allen of the Raven Drum Foundation for 23 years and counting- reaching so many people in need of healing. Your service to others is both tangible through feel of the drum, and intangible with the feeling you get when you are mid-way through each drum circle beat.

You can learn all about their foundation at https://ravendrumfoundation.org/, for more about Lauren and to catch up on all her new music go to https://laurenmonroe.com/. And of course, remember Def Leppard is on tour this Summer, along with Journey so check out the schedule. I know I’ll be at Fenway Park with the good Colonel Dan Arkins cheering on Rick the Thunder God and his band….

Thank you to Peggie Rose for all your support and making our conversation happen, and for all you have done to bring veterans and 1st responders together for such a powerful and unique experience. Many thanks to Ernie Boch, Jr. for your generosity and for hosting this event and for allowing our interview amidst classic guitars and inviting vibes.

Enjoy Lauren Monroe's song "Brave" at the end of this episode which is featured on her latest album Messages from Aphrodite

This episode is dedicated to two members of the Home Base family: Colonel (Ret.) Dan Arkins who is probably practicing the drums somewhere in an undisclosed location while preparing a new mission to conquer the drum kit. And Coreen Field, mom of our own Army Veteran Kelly Field, wife of her late husband Army Veteran Mike Field, and a lifelong Def Leppard fan….

______

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Making Herstory: A Conversation with the 1st Woman to Serve as Commanding Officer of the USS Constitution Commander Billie J. Farrell

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 17:59:41 +0000

Commander Billie June (BJ) Farrell grew up in Kentucky and at age 10 something about the Naval Academy just clicked. Seven years later she enrolled at the Academy, and in 2004 was commissioned. Commander Farrell as served as an officer aboard the USS Vella Gulf, USS San Jacinto, and the USS Vicksburg. And on January 21st, 2022 she moved with her husband, Navy Officer Paul Farrell and two young kids to Charlestown, MA to report as the 77th Commander of the USS Constitution. 224 years later, she was the first woman to take command since the launch of this iconic ship in 1797. Commander Farrell talks about leadership, service, and her Boston experience with family, mental health support and how "if I don't know... I can't help."

Many thanks to Commander BJ Farrell for your service, ongoing support and leadership to your sailors and to everyone you meet here in Boston. Best of luck back at the Naval Academy, mentoring the many lucky students ahead.

Special thanks to the USS Constitution Public Affairs Officer, First Class Ray Minami, for all your help and support of Home Base. Thanks to the great crew at the MGH Photography lab too and please note you can find this conversation on Home Base’s YouTube channel soon.

Home Base Nation will be sharing episodes over two weeks up through the Run To Home Base this coming July 27th. Please sign up to join us there to support all veteran, servicemember and family care, and as we celebrate women in the military this year.

If this is your first time joining us, welcome -Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veteran and Family Care, in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, MA. Every two weeks we share conversations and stories about service, mental health, and recovery with great military and civilian guests. We are over 100 episodes since the start, a few months prior to the pandemic on Veterans Day 2019.

Home Base continues to grow in terms of care, awareness and research, working with veterans and active duty servicemembers across the US and from several other countries. Our programs are continuing to expand right here in Boston, in Florida, Arizona and more news to come.

Here are a few 2024 highlights around Home Base since January. Many great things happening, but here are just a few…

-Arizona State University hosted a successful launch party in Phoenix to announce our partnership to deliver Warrior Health and Fitness on the university’s Downtown Phoenix campus beginning this month.

-Patriots long snapper Joe Cardona, received the NFL’s prestigious Salute to Service Award, to those supporting the Military community. Joe is a lieutenant in the Navy Reserves and came by Home Base to take a tour and talk about the needs of servicemembers and veterans.

-Home Base Florida’s Air Force Veteran Angie De Lima and Marine Veteran Jaime Fernandez participated in workshops in Puerto Rico for veterans and families, and Jaime delivered content from our Resilient Warrior program in Spanish!

-Just last month, Senator Elizabeth Warren invited Spaulding Rehabilitation President and Home Base Chief of TBI Dr. Ross Zafonte to testify to the Senate Armed Forces Committee about the impacts of TBI and blast exposure on active-duty Special Operations Forces.

We wanted to highlight just a few of the many women who have served and have made history along the way…

General Ann E. Dunwoody: In 1992, General Dunwoody was the first female battalion commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and the first female in US Military history to be promoted to four-star general .

Navy Flight Nurse Jane Kendeigh (Ken-dee): At Iwo Jima in 1945, Jane Louise ‘Candy’ Kendeigh, was one of 122 women with specialized training, not only caring for battlefield wounds, but direct hand-to-hand combat.

Army soldier Cathay Williams: Was the first African American female soldier to enlist in the Army – in 1866 and the only documented black woman to serve in the 19th century, serving with the 38th infantry regiment, or the Buffalo the soldiers – joining under her pseudonym, William Cathay.

---

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Therapeutic GOALS – Featuring Ret. Navy SEAL Ryan Croley and Ret. Boston Bruin Frank Simonetti

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 16:25:48 +0000

Retired Navy SEAL Capt. Ryan Croley founded the Warrior For Life Fund (WFLF) in 2012 after never skating or picking up a hockey stick until his mid-thirties, creating an opportunity for veterans, active duty service members, and families to meet and compete on the ice no matter the skill level, ability…or disability. Frank Simonetti played for the Boston Bruins from 1984-1988, and as a Bruins Alumni continues to help raise funds and awareness for people in need through organizations like WFLF. With some pre-game smack talk for the tied series between the Bruins Alumni and WFLF Teams and a conversation about the therapeutic bonds on and off the ice, Dr. Ron talks with Ryan and Frank at Home Base, overlooking the USS Constitution – an appropriate backdrop for a Bostonian Bruin, and a Navy Veteran.

Thank you Ryan Croley, of the Warrior For Life Fund (WFLF) and Frank Simonetti of the Boston Bruins Alumni for your service on and off the ice and for connecting people through the great sport of hockey. Thanks for visiting us at Home Base and for all your work in bringing the Bruins-Military worlds together for some great therapy and great times. Special thanks to colleague Dr. Joe Bonvie who has been bringing sport, psychology and service together with passion for many years.

Make sure to check out the BFit Challenge that will take place January 28th 2024, or sign up virtually for January 19th-26th, and the Home Base BFitTeam!

Many thanks to Annie Tamburello, SLP and Brain Injury Specialist (And wife of Ryan Croley) who treats veterans, servicemembers and civilians with TBI who need cognitive rehab. Check out Cortex Initiative at VA Beach for more information. Through the WFLF they are doing great work, and along with Frank Simonetti and others it’s about that impact factor and showing that support for those who need the help. And thank you to our partner and friend Navy Seal Foundation for all you do to help support organizations like WFLF.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

More Than an Unbelievable 29-year Undefeated Track Streak – Featuring Marine Veteran and Teacher Hal Croft, with Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond and Producer Brandon Millett

Tue, 5 Dec 2023 05:00:00 +0000

On the show today, Marine Veteran, teacher in the classroom and on the track – Hal Croft, including two of his former Reading, MA High School students – Film Producer Brandon Millett, and Home Base's Executive Director Brigadier General Jack Hammond. Host Ron Hirschberg sits with Hal, Brandon and Jack to talk teaching, building bonds on and off the track and battlefield, and healing wounds of war in and out of the clinic. It was just a few years prior to starting his teaching career that in 1967 in Vietnam Hal Croft would earn both a Silver Star for valor in action, and a Bronze Star for saving four fellow Marines at Khe Sanh. We also learn that Hal taught track and field just like the classics in his English literature class, and like Hemingway’s quote "Courage is grace under pressure," Hal lived it every day on his track.

Thank you Hal Croft, General Jack Hammond and Brandon Millett, for joining us on Home Base Nation. Service, leadership and creativity all come together in talking with you all, and the story of resilience and comradery of the Reading High School Track Team is awesome – We are very excited to see CROFT the film soon, and you can go to www.halcroftfilm.com for all information and updates on the documentary release.

Home Base Nation is the official podcast for Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families – Our team sees veterans, servicemembers and their families addressing he invisible wounds of war at no cost.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

"This is How I Serve" - With Wounded Warrior Project's Jennifer Jenkins

rhirschberg@partners.org (Jennifer Jenkins, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Thank you Jennifer Jenkins for How You Serve, and a very happy Thanksgiving to the Jenkins family! Wounded Warrior Project's Jennifer Jenkins is the spouse of a Navy Veteran, the sister of an Army Veteran and the mom of a Marine. She is an award-winning author and has helped build a community of support for military families and veterans for more than 8 years in her role as a Warrior Speaks Communication Specialist. Jennifer was “drafted” into the military the same day her brother Army Specialist James Smith was injured from an IED blast in Iraq in 2005, and for the past 18 years Jennifer has empowered him and many others to regain independence and live fulfilled lives as wounded-but-not-broken, warriors. And although her Marine son was injured years later less severely, she says that that phone call felt exactly the same. Many thanks to our friends at WWP for this opportunity to share Jennifer’s story – Author, Advocate, and a unique military family member trifecta – Spouse, Sister, and Mom.

Many thanks to our guest Jennifer Jenkins of the Wounded Warrior Project, a triple military family member who connects, serves and empowers so many across the country who have served. Thank you WWP for all you do for our veterans and military families, and for Home Base and our Warrior Care Network sisters and brothers in Atlanta, LA and Chicago. For more, please check out woundedwarriorproject.org

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Two Hats and Camo-Scrubs: A Conversation with US Navy Combat Veteran and Current President of the American Medical Association, Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 7 Nov 2023 05:00:00 +0000

US Navy Combat Veteran Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld has worn two hats, both literally and figuratively whether donning his surgical cap in the OR, or his camouflage cap down range, and they seem to blend together when you talk with him about humanity, what the right thing to do is when it comes to stigma, equity in healthcare and equality for all, no matter who we are, both at home and abroad. In this episode, host Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with Dr. Ehrenfeld about his role as the current President of American Medical Association and how his military experience has shaped it, about stigma in mental health, about the fight for rights in the LBGTQ+ community - in and out of the military - and current issues in Israel and Gaza that are on all of our minds.

This episode was recorded on 10-23-23 at Home Base Center of Excellence

Many thanks to our guest Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, Navy Veteran, and current president of the American Medical Association for being on the podcast and your visit to Home Base. Thank you for your service in many ways in the operating room both overseas and stateside, with your work in medical leadership hat that has been shaped by the military hat you have worn over your career.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

"Embrace your story and don't be afraid to let it go!" - Actor, Advocate and Military Family Member Mariel Hemingway

rhirschberg@partners.org (Mariel Hemingway, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 24 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Mariel Hemingway is known for her iconic roles in Lipstick, Manhattan, and Star 80. But did you know she created a Mental Health Foundation, and that she is from a military family? Her dad enlisted in WWII just after Pearl Harbor, was in the OSS which would become the CIA. Her grandfather, the great American writer Ernest Hemingway was denied enlistment for visual impairment but served the frontline in Italy with the Red Cross as an ambulance driver in 1917. Ron and Mariel talk about service, wellness, mental health, about her 2015 memoir "Out Came The Sun," and being able to tell your story no matter the challenge, and never being afraid to let that story go.

Many thanks Mariel Hemingway for joining us on Home Base Nation. Thanks for your passion for mind body health, and helping others through your work with the Foundation and the collaboration with partner Bobby Williams on all things wellness. Your family story and legacy are remarkable and at the same time as you say, there is nothing unique about many of these challenges and triumphs we all share. Please check out the memoir Out Came the Sun: Overcoming the Legacy of Mental Illness, Addiction, and Suicide in My Family which is also read by the author on Audible. And of course, follow our friend’s Melissa and Mariel’s great podcast Out Comes The Sun Podcast and for wellness and mental health resources, please check out Mariel Hemingway Foundation.

Special thanks to Dr. Rudy Tanzi, MGH scientist and artist for the introduction to our guest.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Honoring Native American Veterans on Indigenous Peoples' Day - A Visit to Home Base From Admiral Michael Weahkee and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald

Mon, 9 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000

On October 9th, 2023 we reflect on the contributions of Indigenous peoples in the US, and what is more of a profound contribution than dedication to and protection of our country? In Post 9/11 times, about 1 in 5 Native Americans have joined the armed forces, and we recognize and salute the service and resilience that runs deep and strong throughout our military history. This episode highlights a recent visit to Home Base from Rear Admiral Michael Weahkee, sharing discussions on the Indian Health Service, and an abridged special conversation with Marine Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald.

Our heartfelt thanks to Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald and your family for your ongoing service, and of course the three things we all need to hold onto tightly: Knowledge, Wisdom, and Strength. Thank you to Admiral Michael Weakhee for your presentation and partnership as we optimize care for our Native veterans and their families.

WWII Navajo Code Talker Hon. Peter MacDonald at the Home Base National Center of Excellence - YouTube

Since 2010, Mass General Brigham (MGB) has partnered with the Indian Health Service serving Navajo Nation in both New Mexico and Arizona. In 2023 faculty from across MGB will have volunteered a total of 30 weeks at Navajo IHS hospitals, led 24 remote CME talks and mentored four providers from Cherokee Nation for partnering in substance use disorder care.

Ellen Bell, Director of Community Health Outreach and Training Programs at MGB reflected in a recent interview - saying, “Inadequate infrastructure, limited specialty care and woeful underfunding contribute to well-documented and astounding health disparities in our Native American communities – all of which were severely intensified during the COVID pandemic.”

The Home Base Team has been collaborating with the medical, educational, and government leadership in Arizona on a three-phase launch of mind-body healthcare for veterans and families that includes urban and rural partnerships with the Navajo Nation community specifically. Warrior Health and Fitness programming is coming soon this year, followed by intensive clinical and outpatient programming in early 2024 – All thanks to the efforts of Dr. Louis Chow, Army Veterans Felicia Pinckney and Bill Davidson, Erin Dwyer, Air Force Veteran Marcus Denetdale, Laura Harward, Karianne Kraus, Marine Veteran Armando Hernandez, and others, along with leadership Mike Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond.

As Home Base moves forward with planning in Arizona and Navajo Nation, we aim to carry on the Mass General Brigham initiative that started in 2010 with colleague Ellen Bell and others to partner in healthcare, battling health disparities while always chipping away at stigma in mental health especially in these regions. For more information and to access care and or provide support to our growing programs, please connect with us at www.homebase.org.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth
Closing Guitar Music: Lucy Little
Special thanks to David Schmitz and the Waves Media Team for curation of content both live and multimedia video

“Speak Openly and Speak Out!” – A Conversation with The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, Secretary of the Navy

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 20:05:27 +0000

On the show today, The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, the 78th Secretary of the Navy. Dr. Ron Hirschberg and Home Base COO Michael Allard visit the Pentagon and have the opportunity to sit with SECNAV and staff and discuss how great leaders need to know what their troops are going through, they need to be empathic and above all - know that mental health IS health. The SECNAV takes pride in the people - the sailors, marines, reservists and civilians and their families who all make it possible for our Navy and Marine Corps to succeed. Recorded in May, 2023 during "Mental Health Awareness" it was 100% clear that all other 11 months of the year are just as important, and as he reflects on his visit to Home Base, it was an honor to be partners in service to the active duty, veterans and families who need the help. Our own Marine Veteran Jake McCaffrey (Peer Recovery Specialist at Home Base) is interviewed on his strong work in healing others through their recovery, while telling his own story.

____________________

Thank you, Secretary Carlos Del Toro, for your service, leadership and for truly caring for the more than 900,000 sailors, marines and civilians who are all part of the US Navy and Marine Corps. It was an honor to have you and your wife visit Home Base and returning the favor at the Pentagon was something we at Home Base will never forget - as you obviously place health and wellbeing at the highest priority.

Thank you, Marine Veteran and Home Base Peer Recovery Specialist Jake McCaffrey, for your service, and for your candid conversation on life’s challenges and successes. The Home Base team is lucky to have you as someone who can help many others heal in similar struggles…

Special thanks to LT Gabrielle Dimaapi and Chief Shannon Renfroe from Office of the Sec of the Navy for your stewardship and hospitality, and for your ongoing service.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24/7. Calls are confidential, available to any person in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, and supports people calling for themselves or with concern for loved ones. The Veterans Crisis Line connects Service members and Veterans in crisis, as well as family members or friends, with qualified VA responders through a confidential call, online chat, or text. Veterans can Dial 988 and Press 1 to talk, or text 838255 to connect with a VA responder. And remember, You can make a difference by learning warning signs and knowing the risk factors of suicide Learn more with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, at www.afsp.org

This episode was recorded and edited by Chuck Clough, of Above The Basement Productions.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

"What Are You Doing When You Come Home?" - With NPR News Correspondent on Veterans Quil Lawrence

rhirschberg@partners.org (Quil Lawrence, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 17:58:06 +0000

On this week’s Home Base Nation, host Dr. Ron Hirschberg interviews the interviewer at NPR Studios in New York City, with the award-winning correspondent and author, Quil Lawrence. Quil has been walking the walk with correspondence on war, government, culture and more for more than 25 years, down range during OIF and OEF, and NPR's Bureau Chief in both Baghdad and Kabul beginning in 2009. Since returning home in 2012, Quil covers veterans’ issues, in addition to national security, and climate for NPR News.

This week, September 10-16 is National Suicide Prevention Week, and September is National Suicide Prevention & Awareness Month. Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone regardless of age, gender or background but there are certain groups of people who are at higher risk of suicide. Suicidal thoughts, although common should not be considered normal and often indicate a more serious issue.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is free and available 24/7. Calls are confidential, available to any person in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, and supports people calling for themselves or with concern for loved ones. The Veterans Crisis Line connects Service members and Veterans in crisis, as well as family members or friends, with qualified VA responders through a confidential call, online chat, or text. Veterans can Dial 988 and Press 1 to talk, or text 838255 to connect with a VA responder. And remember, You can make a difference by learning warning signs and knowing the risk factors of suicide Learn more with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, at www.afsp.org

Thank you Quil Lawrence for joining the conversation on serving our veterans and military families in your own way, on reporting and connecting with so many, and for making a difference in this space for more than 20 years.

For more information and his Story Archives, you can simply go to NPR website and search for Quil. His latest report on September 1st is a timely piece Marking 2 years since the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan, on all the efforts to an ongoing crisis of inability to evacuate Afghan allies, on the moral injury to our troops and the politics behind the issue. In addition to his work as a correspondent and journalist, Quil is the author of Invisible Nation: How the Kurds' Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East,and editor for Pictures on the Radio, a book of the late photographer David Gilkey's work for NPR News.

Thank you to colleague Colonel Dan Arkins, US Army, Retired - Director of Development at Home Base, who first introduced us to Quil Lawrence and his great work with veterans and much more.

This episode was recorded and edited by Chuck Clough, of Above The Basement Productions.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs
Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.
Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Serving Service with a Smile: Part II - With Cartoonist and Writer Garry Trudeau

rhirschberg@partners.org (Garry Trudeau, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:25:54 +0000

In Part II of this conversation, Ron and Garry talk about gaining the trust from military leadership during wartime, with the opportunity to visit Kuwait during the Gulf War after getting the call directly from the battlefield, and how just like visiting Walter Reed, these are chances to Get it Right in order to follow him or her from servicemember to veteran and from deployment to home. They discuss how he’s not really that guy who could ever really tell a joke, and where his humor seems to come from, about his love for putting on a show ever since he was a little kid, and how he shares the mission to support veterans with fellow cartoonist (among other things), Jake Tapper.

Thanks for tuning in to Home Base Nation with writer, cartoonist and longtime supporter of our veterans and military families, Garry Trudeau.

Thank you Garry for your unwavering support of veterans and their families, and expertise in creating worlds that tell stories that make us think, feel, laugh, and smile. Make sure to pick up his series of four books on these journeys of recovery!

Home Base has a serendipitous connection with Garry and our mutual respect and connect to the incredible Fisher House. Proceeds from sales of the four books we discuss, which feature forewords by the late Senator and Veteran John McCain and General Richard B. Myers, former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, benefit Fisher House providing temporary lodging for military families - currently at 92 homes across the country, with more expanding overseas. Home Base has partnered with Fisher House for many years and we are grateful every day for the ongoing support they provide our veterans, servicemembers and families, enabling them to visit and stay in Boston at our Center of Excellence.

This episode was recorded and edited by Chuck Clough, of Above The Basement Productions.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

___

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Serving Service with a Smile: Part I - With Cartoonist and Writer Garry Trudeau

rhirschberg@partners.org (Garry Trudeau, Dr. Ron Hirschberg, Chuck Clough) — Tue, 29 Aug 2023 18:23:22 +0000

In Part I of this conversation, Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy winner, and Army’s Commander’s Award for Public Service honoree Garry Trudeau. Garry talks about learning that characters need to "known who they are" from his days working with MASH's Robert Altman, and tells us that not only did his dad and grandfather both serve, they were also both physicians. He talks about an eye-opening visit to Walter Reed Medical Center, with stories of injury and resilience that not only informed his storytelling, but have had lasting impacts on him for the long haul. As a big fan of author Sebastian Junger, he talks about that innate need for the tribe to survive, and of course explains a bit of his own creative process.

___

Thanks for tuning in to Home Base Nation with writer, cartoonist and longtime supporter of our veterans and military families, Garry Trudeau.

This episode was recorded and edited by Chuck Clough, of Above The Basement Productions.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

___

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Unbroken Code, Unbroken Love (For Country) - With WWII Marine Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald, Sr.

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 17:00:18 +0000

Today is August 14th - And US Navajo Code Talker Day. Many do not know about the Code Talkers and what they did for our nation - and the world - starting in 1942. On the show today, we are thrilled and honored to share a live conversation that took place on July 23rd 2023 at the Home Base Center of Excellence in Charlestown Navy Yard, with WWII Marine Veteran, Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald. Hon. Peter MacDonald is one of three surviving Navajo Code Talkers and his Knowledge, Wisdom, and Strength all come through in this special episode.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

___

This interview followed the 14th annual Run To Home Base at Fenway Park where we honored the Special Operator Community. And along with Red Sox Nation that night in a pregame ceremony, Sox fans (along with many Mets fans at their side) gave a standing ovation to Mr. MacDonald as he and his family got a taste of Fenway spirit, honoring a legend right there in the historical park.

Thank you to our honorable guest, Marine Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald for visiting Home Base and for this live, unforgettable conversation. Thank you for teaching us about service and sacrifice and of course the 3 guiding principles you offer to the next generations: 1. Knowledge, 2. Wisdom, and 3. Strength. We were so grateful to you and your family for visiting us in Boston and hope and look forward to returning the visit in Arizona soon.

Many thanks to Hope and Charity MacDonald and your families for making this visit possible- At Home Base, thanks to the great team including Army Veteran Felicia Pinckney, Erin Dwyer, Air Force Veteran Marcus Denetdale, Dr. Louis Chow, Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Marine Veteran Derek Goodwin, Justin Scheinert, Phebe Garver, with leadership support COO Mike Allard and ED Brigadier General Jack Hammond.

Thank you to Chuck Clough for editing and production on this episode and David Schmitz at Waves Media for live-video recording and production – You can find the full length video of this conversation on our YouTube channel.

"Hozho Nahasdlii'" is a Navajo (Dine') Prayer-Song written by Clara Natonabah from the Tachii'nii Clan.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the Tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Leading Starts With Listening - Featuring MA Secretary of Veterans Services Jon Santiago

rhirschberg@partners.org (Secretary Jon Santiago, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 23 May 2023 18:34:41 +0000

Secretary Jon Santiago has had more than a few roles that have brought him to listen and lead in Veterans Services for Massachusetts along side Govenor Healey: A Multilingual Peace Corps Alum, Public Health Grad, Emergency Room Physician, Major in US Army Reserves, and Mass State Representative. And along with wife Alexandra, his proudest role to date as dad to Rafael, their 14-month-old who inspires him daily to do right by the community now and for the future. Ron Hirschberg talks with the Secretary about the journey so far, and how his drive to support and serve all veterans and families comes from within, and the calling to help all people in need or crisis, with DEI and the social determinants of health at the core of his mission.

-Thank you to Secretary Jon Santiago for your service in many ways. You are indeed a role model for all of us and of course your little guy’s generation to come. Home Base looks forward to your great work for all veterans of all eras, and their families throughout Massachusetts as a model Nationally as well. Thank you very much to Jackie Manning for all your efforts to make this conversation possible and to all the great staff at the Secretary’s office.

-Remember you can sign up any time for the 14th annual RTHB at Fenway Park on Saturday July 22nd. This year we honor the Special Operator community and will have special guests visiting on field as always, with a 5K 9K Walk Run throughout Boston, ending right on home plate.

-With Chairman of the Media Lab at Home Base Peter Smyth and the support and counsel of COO Mike Allard and Executive Director Brigadier General Jack Hammond, we started this podcast in November 2019. The goal was and remains twofold: To highlight the great work that so many are doing to lift awareness and help veterans and military families, and to connect with leaders from both military and civilian worlds to talk about service and mind-body health.

-As we head towards one hundred episodes, I want to acknowledge and thank this great team of collaborators, beginning day one with Steve Monaco, Cassie Falone, Charlotte Lucky, Army Veterans Bill Davidson and Armand Hunter, Lucy Little and Laurie Gallagher, and our new team - Army Veteran Kelly Field, Steve Monaco, Justin Scheinert, Phebe Garver, and Chuck Clough.

-We are closing today with our 5th Season of Home Base Nation and on behalf of all of us at Home Base, we appreciate you – a Grateful Nation, for taking the time to listen during part of your day, whenever and wherever you are. We will be back this Summer with new great content and conversations. Thanks.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

REMINDER... If you are a runner, walker, or want to sponsor either one, the 14th annual Run To Home Base is coming soon, of course back at Fenway Park with our great partners the Red Sox Foundation, on Saturday July 22nd 2023! Thank you for all your support of the mission to take care of all of our veterans their families. Hope to see you there and as always you can join, run and support anywhere virtually…At www.runtohomebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Mending Invisible Wounds...With Music - Featuring Directors of "Music Vets" Jon Kaufman and El Sawyer

rhirschberg@partners.org (Jon Kaufman, El Sawyer, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 9 May 2023 14:34:44 +0000

Today’s episode features a conversation with co-directors of the film Music Vets, Jon Kaufman and El Sawyer who discuss their new documentary that shows us how trauma and challenges brought out by war are healed with music. Music Vets highlights the experience of three US Veterans as they process emotions, build coping skills and resilience while combating common and debilitating invisible wounds - posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. It is also a story about transitions, and coming back to one's community, which is not a new concept to El and Jon who discuss their 2013 film, Pull Of Gravity, a documentary that follows the lives of three people in maximum security prison who transition home – One of those three being El himself.

___

Thank you Jon Kaufman and El Sawyer, our guests for your time and for doing your own part and service with creativity to honor veterans and healing through music, through your expertise of film.

Music Vets was created by co-directors Jon Kaufman and El Sawyer, Producer Gabe Wiener, and Executive Producers Rodd Berro and Paula Katz. The filmmakers would like to sincerely thank the veterans and their families who shared their stories and lives with them in the film, with the goal of spreading this message of healing.

To get updates on screening and where you can find the film, you can go to musicvetsfilm.com, and check out MING media (Media In Neighborhood Group) for all projects and for more on thoughtful community-minded filmmaking.

Thank you very much- Joy Allen, Brenda Ross, Julia Cuellar and colleagues at Berklee College of Music for developing the Institute of Music and Health series and for supporting our veterans and military families.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Mission Pickleball: A Grateful Nation Raise Their Paddles To Play The Veteran-Created Game

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 21:03:28 +0000

We knew it was a matter of time before Pickleball would come for a visit... and stay at Home Base. Mission Pickleball tells the story of the first pickleball tournament and fundraiser for Home Base on March 31st, 2023, partnering with our friends at the Naples Pickleball Center, in Naples, Florida. It is fitting that 3 WWII veterans created this infectious sport on a summer day in 1965. Word has it that they were trying to help a bunch of bored kids to find something to do, which may be true, but little did they know that it would create community and comradery not only around the country but the whole world 50+ years later.

Big thanks to team Home Base Pickleball – Moe Roderick, Steve Monaco, Jason Cooper, Armando Hernandez, Angie De Lima, Larry Whitmore, Lindsey Stiefvater, Nicole Culver, and Jaime Fernandez, and again thanks to our NPC partners Bob Strommen, Holly Bacon, Will Blanchette, and Pat Shea.

Many thanks to our Florida healthcare partners Lee Health, The David Lawrence Center, and to the tournament presenting sponsors, Florida Gulf Coast University who helped make this great event possible.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Two Weeks and Onward - A Conversation with Home Base Intensive Clinical Program Director Laura Harward, MSW, LICSW

rhirschberg@partners.org (Chuck Clough, Laura Harward, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 14:54:00 +0000

Laura Harward, MSW, LICSW has been the director of the Intensive Clinical Program (ICP) - Home Base's signature program for the past 4 years. In 2015 while working in research at Mass General Hospital, she saw the need for veteran and military family care, and so Home Base was lucky to bring her on board. Laura always has a pulse on the Home Base program, and she shares where it has been, where it is now, and where it is going. Thanks for joining us for this special conversation – Home Base Nation correspondent Chuck Clough brings us this interview with Home Base’s very own, Laura Harward.

_____

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

REMINDER... If you are a runner, walker, or want to sponsor either one, the 14th annual Run To Home Base is coming soon, of course back at Fenway Park with our great partners the Red Sox Foundation, on Saturday July 22nd 2023! Thank you for all your support of the mission to take care of all of our veterans their families. This year we will highlight and honor the Special Operators, including our Navy SEAL, Green Beret, Ranger, Delta force and other communities. Hope to see you there and as always you can join, run and support anywhere virtually…At www.runtohomebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor and corresponded (Home Base Staff Picks): Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Home Base’s Dr. Rachel Millstein and Staff Pick: Army Veteran and Comedian Thom Tran

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Rachel Millstein, Thom Tran, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 18:13:14 +0000

Today on Home Base Nation, we'll first hear from Dr. Rachel Millstein who works at Home Base and the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) for Mind Body Medicine at MGH on what meditation is, why we do it, and how people can elicit the "Relaxation Response." Resilient Warrior was adapted from the great work at the BHI and is now delivered to not only veterans but military families and kids nationwide. Following this, please enjoy our past episode on resilience and healing through comedy and laughter with Army Veteran Thom Tran! Thom Tran wears many hats...He’s a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant and paratrooper, a first generation Vietnamese-American, a Purple Heart recipient, and a ‘triple-threat’ entertainer - an actor, musician, and comedian. Thom and Ron talk about mental health through the lens of comedy, laughter and we learn about his and his family's journey and service.

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Thank you Dr. Rachel Millstein for all you do for veterans and families at Home Base and at The Benson-Henry Institute at Mass General. Will be sharing more than 20 meditations soon, from Rachel and many others at Home Base, so please keep a watch out for those.

Make sure to Check out Thom Tran online or live and local when he is touring your town, you will be doing a lot “internal jogging” and quite out of breath from laughing I promise. Thanks, Thom, for your service and ongoing service in new ways.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor and corresponded (Home Base Staff Picks): Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Home Base's Family Outreach Coordinator Betsy Hart and Staff Pick: The Service of Sesame Street – Featuring Rocio Galarza

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 19:17:20 +0000

Our Home Base Staff Pick this week is "The Service of Sesame Street – Featuring Rocio Galarza." You’ll first hear from Home Base's Family Outreach Coordinator, military spouse and military daughter Betsy Hart. Betsy was in this original episode in April 2021, and talked about the time when her kids were really little, how Sesame Workshop for Military Families was a saving grace for them and for the whole family during all their deployments and transitions. Rocio Galarza is Vice President of US Social Impact at Sesame Workshop, and she and Dr. Ron talk about Sesame's partnerships with the military community, DoD, and content experts, and how they create the energy behind those beloved "service-monsters" and their own military families.

Thank you, Betsy Hart, and to your whole family for the service you’ve provided for many years and that continue to provide for the patients and families at Home Base. Thank you to Rocio Galarza our guest and Brit Edwards, at Sesame Steet for Military Families.

Many thanks to Chuck Clough - editing and interviewing for Home Base Staff Picks, Justin Scheinert - photos and socials, Army Veteran Kelly Field – Communications, Steve Monaco Marketing, and Phebe Garver, coordination and consultation.

We will connect back in 2 weeks for more Home Base Staff Picks, remember this is Military Appreciation Month, thank you all who have served and all the families who serve with you. We are back with new conversations and stories in April, so please subscribe or follow, tell a friend about us. For more about the military family programs and team, and all things Home Base please go to www.homebase.org

_____

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor and corresponded (Home Base Staff Picks): Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Home Base's Marine Veteran Ryan Casavant and his Staff Pick: Dancehall and Deployments - With Marine Veteran Shaggy

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:05:00 +0000

For our 1st Home Base Staff Pick, Our very own Team Leader of Veteran Outreach Marine Veteran Ryan Casavant gives some love to fellow Marine Veteran and … Dancehall and Reggae artist Orville Burrell, AKA Shaggy. Ryan talks about his road to the Marines, his deployment experience, and what he does at Home Base to support his peers and families. And as we look at those making history, this month in Black History Month, you cannot find any other GRAMMY-winning Marines out there… Shaggy has released 'Com Fly Wid Mi which has 11 Frank Sinatra songs all done in his own Reggae style, produced by collaborator Sting. Cheers to these two Marines who have served and continue to serve in many ways.

Some news:

-As we know, it’s been 1 year as of Feb 24th since the War in Ukraine. It is hard to believe, and not only do we think of those Ukrainian troops when it comes to their needs body-mind and soul, we think of the trauma that the civilians have been enduring. There are many people around MGB who have been helping since the get-go like BWH Navy Veteran Dr. Eric Goralnick and MGH’s Dr. Jarone Lee and many others - and now there seems to be even more need when it comes to mental health, not surprisingly.

-In more celebratory news, Home Base was very happy to officially announce on Feb 22nd Last week, a first of its kind major federal funding of $5 million as we welcomed a visit from Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Representatives Stephen Lynch (MA-08) and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) to our national center of excellence.

These funds will help support Home Base’s signature clinical programs serving families of the fallen - and active-duty special operations forces experiencing ongoing issues from traumatic brain injury – TBI.

Senator Warren who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke some familiar words, not unlike what our friend and colleague Green Beret Jillian Kitching said that always resonates with me…About the simple equation, that their service = our service to help them to take care of them, when they return.

Warren said, “I think of it this way - A lot of what we do is about military weapons and all the technology. But The other half is about the people.”- “If we are going to have a strong military, then we have to treat our people better.”

Thank you Shaggy, and Ryan for your service, and your ongoing service to your fellow comrades and families.

Special thanks to Tracy Bufferd for all your efforts and support in connecting Home Base with Dancehall, Reggae and all the genuine support of service from Shaggy and team. And… If you want more Shaggy at Home Base, check out the LIVE conversation at the Veterans Day Dinner we released February 2020.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor and corresponded (Home Base Staff Picks): Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

The Heart of a Survivor - With CBS Survivor Winner and Military Family Member Mike Gabler

rhirschberg@partners.org (Mike Gabler, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 05:00:00 +0000

In our last episode of Season 5, Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with Survivor's Season 43 Winner Mike "Gabler" Gabler, the first winner to give their entire $1 Million to a deserving cause close to our hearts at Home Base. As a heart valve specialist from a military family, Gabler talks about the inspiration of service he’s had from his dad and friends in the military, and an unforgettable veteran named Lester who lived well into his 90s, following his team's transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. While thinking literally under the stars over the island for days, things started to come together for a guy who has served many people's hearts, about how a grateful civilian could best help many more veterans in need.

2.14.23

Remember that tomorrow 2/15/23 is the final day to take advantage of discounted fundraising minimums for the RUN TO HOME BASE At Fenway Park July 22nd, 2023 - GO TO – www.runtohomebase.org

It’s February, 2023 – It’s American Heart Month and today is Valentine’s Day folks… So it’s also the perfect time to talk about a special person who not only has shown his massive heart for giving to veteran mental health, but happens to work in the business of giving people new functioning hearts - Mike Gabler. Gabler is a heart valve specialist, who’s lived most of his life in Texas, and last year found his way from his family home base in Idaho to Fiji as one of 18 contestants on the CBS show Survivor. Gabler is the winner of this past season #43, he is 1 of 2 winners over 50, and is the first winner in Survivor history since its first year in 2000 to give the entire $1M dollar prize to charity. He is supporting the veteran community with this gift, specifically in PTSD and mental health, gifting under his dad’s name, Army Veteran and Green Beret Robert Gabler.

___

Thank you Gabler, for your serving those who’ve served through this more than generous gift, and the chance to make a difference in an ongoing way. Survivor has been right in our living rooms around the country for almost 23 years and getting the chance to lift awareness about the needs for returning and all recovering veterans is huge, so thank you sir.

Special thanks to Betty Diaz at Paramount and Jennifer Mendez-Ruiz at CBS for bringing us together and for all you do to support mental health, veteran and other efforts!

For all returning Survivor fans and for anyone who’s never seen it, it’s never too late to start - Survivor 44, which has been the twelfth consecutive season to be filmed in Fiji is set to premiere on March 1, 2023, on CBS, coming right up in 2 weeks.

___
If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Walking the Walk, After 4,325 Episodes of the Talk - With Navy Veteran Montel Williams

rhirschberg@partners.org (Navy Veteran Montel Williams, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Navy Veteran Montel Williams sits with Dr. Ron Hirschberg to discuss his three 17-year long careers, the first of which as Navy Intelligence Officer, followed by his prolific and award-winning talk show, which led to work and support in veteran trauma, a multiple sclerosis foundation, and bringing service and giving to military families together with Lifetime's Military Makeover. Among other decorated honors, Mr. Williams holds two Navy Commendation Medals, two Humanitarian Service Medals, and...two Emmys, and has shown the world many forms of service with interwoven themes of leadership, storytelling, wellness, and always giving back.

___

Thank you Navy Veteran Montel Williams for your service and ongoing service in many ways - shining the light on veterans and families with the Military Makeover crew, and for all you do in health advocacy and growth. We look forward to more conversations with you on veteran and military family needs as someone who really walks the walk.

Check out Military Makeover on Lifetime and of course we will tune in especially for Lynn, MA family this summer.

Remember for that Early Bird discount for the 14th annual RTHB, NOW through February 15th

___
If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Photo Credit, Montel Williams: Joe Wallace Photography

Clip: Pepsi Salutes the Glory of Black History, with Montel Williams - 1989

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Finding Your Hozho on MLK Day of Service - Reflections with WWII Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:39:37 +0000

WWII Marine Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald reflects on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day of Service, and at the same time points out that Dr. King would not simply want a day of service, but a way of service. As one of the only three living Code Talkers of more than 400 from WWII, Mr. MacDonald embodies grace and gratitude, and teaches us that although these codes may have been used as weapons, war is never the goal. His ongoing wish is for peace, balance and being one together with the world among all cultures – With one Navajo word that sums this up, and what Dr. King was all about: Hozho.

Thank you for joining this conversation with Marine Veteran and Navajo Code Talker Peter MacDonald, and wishing you all to be in Hozho not only on this day of service, but everyday.

Special thanks to Charity MacDonald for making this conversation with your Dad possible. You have served as a military family member and obviously helping to carry his, Navajo and other Native American Veterans' torches in order to educate generations.

And many thanks to Army Veteran Regan Hawthorne, son of the late Marine Veteran and Code Talker Roy Hawthorne for your service, support of the upcoming Navajo Code Talker Museum, and for your stewardship in connecting with Home Base, and Marine Veteran Andrew Appleton, for all your ongoing service to veterans and your support of the Navajo Code Talker Museum.

___
If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Talk While You Exercise, Learn While You Podcast! - With Boston VA Whole Health Medical Director Dr. Eddie Phillips

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Eddie Phillips, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 20:07:30 +0000

Today on the show, host Dr. Ron Hirschberg chats with friend and colleague Dr. Eddie Phillips, Whole Health Medical Director at the Boston VA, and Associate Professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, about asking not what's the matter with you - but what matters to you, about Eddie's "Bike Desk" that keeps him moving while working, moderate and vigorous intensity exercise, and learning while laughing with his cohost Juna Gtata on PRX's Food, We Need To Talk.

___

I first met Dr. Eddie Phillips back in… 2003 (gasp), which is officially now 20 years ago when I was a resident, training at Spaulding Rehab Hospital and he was an attending physician. Eddie was then in the process of essentially grass roots education to not only patients but all healthcare workers - that exercise is medicine. Something was catching on in looking at not only exercise, but patient lifestyle more than before - such that in 2007 he founded the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Before long, Eddie and team were developing multiple Harvard CME courses around the world…

So it was no surprise to me that in 2016 Dr. Phillips was approached by WBUR the NPR Boston affiliate to host The Magic Pill along with cohost WBUR’s Carey Goldberg – This show won an Edward R. Murrow Award which is basically like getting an Emmy for broadcasting. Very cool. Fast-forward a couple years and Eddie joined the very talented Juna Gjata – on a fantastic new podcast produced with PRX call Food We Need to Talk – essentially educating and entertaining us all about nutrition and food and how it relates to our lives - Make sure to check out this show, perhaps as your New Year’s resolution (and hint-hint that’s the topic of their episode this week – all you need to know about New Years’ resolutions, including the science behind it)…

-Cheers all and Happy New Year! - Ron

____

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Learning, Laughing on all things Military Life - With Senior Editor at Military Times Sarah Sicard

rhirschberg@partners.org (Sarah Sicard, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 17:12:20 +0000

On our last episode of 2022, Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with Journalist Sarah Sicard about growing up in a military family, and growing an interest in shining light on the 1% military community through stories on culture, humor, history and all things entertainment in the military and veteran space. Sarah writes for Military Times and you'll find her work in Task and Purpose, National Defense News, and stay tuned of course for her upcoming first novel. Happy Holidays and we look forward to connecting back soon in 2023!

I also noticed that three people/organizations I admire and follow also follow Sarah – The Bob Woodruff Foundation, Marine Veteran Kate Mannion from Barstool Sports, and Veteran supporter, CNN Anchor Mr. Jake Tapper. I thought that was pretty cool and spoke to her work on culture, humor and the ability like some creatives and leaders like Sarah, to bridge that military-civilian divide in a unique way.

If you are interested in learning more about Sarah, check out her work at Militarytimes.com and follow her @smsicard on Twitter.

And speaking of Twitter, please follow us on Twitter @homebaseprogram, and you can find me @DeerMountainRH (Deer, like the animal).

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

"A Little Hope" (And A Lotta Harmony) - Featuring Voices Of Service

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Army Veterans Caleb Green, Christal Rheams, Ron Henry, and Jason Hanna join host Dr. Ron Hirschberg for a conversation about the love of music, singing and one another as brothers and sisters that runs as deep as their harmonies, backstage at the Home Base Veterans Day Dinner on November 12th 2022. Their mission to help others heal those invisible wounds through song and bringing people together in both the military and civilian community hit a new level in 2019 when they became Top 5 finalists in the 14th season of America's Got Talent. They continue to tour, create and inspire wherever they go.

Thank you to Army Veterans Caleb Green, Christal Rheams, Ron Henry, and Jason Hanna of Voices Of Service for joining us on Home Base Nation, and for all your talents. Thanks for your service and how you continue to serve others with inspiring music and song.

Now during this holiday month, make sure to check out their new EP – “Deck The Halls”

Many thanks for Cathie Lachereas of CAMMO and the whole VOS team.

_____

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Healing Waters at the Head of The Charles - With Navy Veteran Patrick Johnson

rhirschberg@partners.org (Navy Veteran Patrick Johnson, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

In this episode, host Dr. Ron Hirschberg sits on the bank of the Charles River in Cambridge, MA with Navy Veteran and Rowing Coach Patrick Johnson, at the famous Head of The Charles Regatta. Coach Johnson is National Director at Athletes Without Limits (AWL), and DC Strokes integrated rowing program, a USRowing Freedom Rows designated adaptive program for the Armed Forces. Ron and Patrick talk about his joining the Navy as a musician, finding a new family in the military music community, and how his band of military-music brothers and sisters decided to partake in a Learn To Row program in DC, which led to Patrick’s impactful coaching at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with disabled veterans. Patrick talks about healing others and himself after experiencing lung injury, TBI and anxiety, through both the arts and athleticism, and how there is something about being on the water that can be the right medicine for the soul.

___

Thank you Navy Veteran Coach Patrick Johnson for your service, and your ongoing service to all the adults, kids, both in and out of the military that you mentor in many ways. I wish we could have talked longer and hope we have a chance to meet again perhaps in your neck of woods in DC someday. The two themes that come to mind after meeting you are: Family and Healing - And whether through military, music, or rowing, you embody both. To learn more about Patrick and AWL, please go to www.athleteswithoutlimits.org

And a special thanks to Marylin Koblan for all you do for rowers of all abilities, who is the executive director of Para Rowing Foundation, and who introduced us to Coach Johnson prior to the Head of The Charles. Please check out the great work being done by Marylin and her team at www.pararowingfoundation.org

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Thankful for Old Friends and New Missions - Featuring US Army Legal Specialist (Ret.) Matt Bataille

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Home Base Nation Thanksgiving Message from host Ron Hirschberg

11-23-22

“Thank you sir, for your service.” I said this to a Marine Veteran in the hospital the other day who was admitted with a bad pneumonia, and he was getting back on his feet to get home hopefully for Thanksgiving. He said Thank YOU doc for yours. I nodded and lifted my brow, knowing that like every other day I would still take the train home to my suburban neighborhood, sleep in a comfy bed and feel safe at home.

As doctors we sign up to help treat disease, help function - but we don’t sign up to get in harms way to keep others safe and free. Covid changed things around the hospital, and in the thick of things the real and raw emotional and physical struggles many healthcare workers went through changed the conversation – Yes, do no harm, Yes, heal the sick… But risk your life in the process? We are amazingly almost 3 years from the start of the pandemic. Things are different now, mostly for the better. Sports are back. Music is back. Politics aside, we are also safer due to vaccines. However, we lost many people, the world lost many people. Today on Thanksgiving, I am thankful for a kind of new normal.

But most of all, I am thankful for the men and women who have served - out there right now and every day around the world who wake up every morning and genuinely not only think of others welfare but to do it while their own safety or life may be at risk. That’s why we need to take care of them. Our Home Base friend Green Beret Julian Kitching said at Fenway this summer something I will never forget – He summed this up in what he calls The Equation – He said, “This is about simple math: When we sign people up to go do difficult things for all of us – We need to automatically sign up for that other side of the equation, which is making sure we are taking care of those families and servicemembers when they come back. We must pour in as much as they have given.”

We are grateful for all of you who support this great program to address the other side of The Equation. If you want to make a donation during this holiday season, Home Base thanks you! Go to www.homebase.org/donate

______

Thank you to Matt Battaille for your service and all you continue to do.

To learn more about how you can help your Ukrainian refugee neighbors, please go to www.cuttingthered.com

______

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Returning to Fenway - The 2022 Run To Home Base: Honoring Black Veterans of All Eras

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

In this Season 5 opener, come back to Fenway Park on July 30th, 2022 for the 13th Annual Run to Home Base. This is our first RTHB at the Park since Covid, and this year Home Base and The Red Sox Foundation honors and celebrates Black Veterans and Families of all eras. From the first base line and Sam Adams Deck, Dr. Ron Hirschberg interviews WWII Tuskegee Airman Enoch "Woody" Woodson II, WWII Army Veteran Marvin Gilmore, Brigadier General Joe Carter, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Kitching, Green Beret Julian Kitching, Colonel Dana Sanders-Udo, Mass General Brigham leaders who have and continue to support the Home Base mission, and other champions like NESN's Tom Caron and famed Red Sox Pitcher Tim Wakefield. Happy Veterans Day to all who've served and to all the families who have served along with you.

We are very grateful for the efforts of the following staff at Home Base who made RTHB 2022 as special and inspirational as ever:

-Cheryl Brathwaite, Daughter of Army Veteran, Home Base Office Manager

-Leonard Montgomery, Marine Veteran, Home Base Veteran Outreach Coordinator

-Kevin Dillon, Navy Veteran, Home Base Veteran Outreach Coordinator

-Felicia Pinckney, Army Veteran, Home Base Program Manager Network Development

___

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Army Veteran Kelly Field, Phebe Garver, Justin Scheinert, Chuck Clough, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Assistant Producer, Editor: Chuck Clough
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Invictus/Warrior Game Alumni and Home Base ICP Graduate Army Veteran Monica “Mo” Southall

rhirschberg@partners.org (Monica Southall, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 2 Aug 2022 16:52:36 +0000

Today's episode is another installment of Home Base Nation: Veteran Stories with Retired U.S. Army Sgt. Monica "Mo" Southall. Mo participated in Home Base's Intensive Care Program (ICP) in January 2022. Mo is an athlete and adaptive sports athlete, having competed multiple times in the Invictus Games, and competed and coached in the Department of Defense Warrior Games. Mo was gravely injured in 2009 while on deployment, and speaks openly about how finding her way into adaptive sports saved her life. In this conversation, Mo and Ron talk about her time in the Army and her love of service, into the world of adaptive sports, what it was like to be a gay woman during the time of Don't Ask Don't Tell, what led her to Home Base, and why she feels it is so important to talk about mental health care and struggles, and why it is okay to ask for help.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music in today's episode: "Cadillac" by Ron Hirschberg

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation. To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation: www.homebase.org/homebasenation. To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Military Giving Made Possible - With the Armed Forces Financial Network and Inspire Up

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Home Base is all about helping veterans and military families thrive. Mental health and addressing the invisible wounds are part of the equation – And Inspire Up with help from AFFN is such a good example of that needed collaboration to make that thriving a reality.

Thanks to our guests – John Broda and Scott Duszynski, of Armed Forces Financial Network, and Jessica Manfre of Inspire Up for your service and for all you do for military families.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Backing music and outro: "Warrior-Healer" by James and House and Air Force Veteran Blair Morin

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Emergencies Without Borders - With US Navy Veteran Dr. Eric Goralnick

rhirschberg@partners.org (Eric Goralnick, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 5 Jul 2022 13:41:23 +0000

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

###

Eric Goralnick, MD, MS is focused on improving patient care in two main areas: ensuring access to healthcare for our most vulnerable patients and supporting collaborations between the civilian and military medical communities.

He is an emergency medicine physician and serves as Medical Director, Access and Network Development, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. He is currently a George W. Bush Institute Stand To Veteran Scholar. He has coauthored over 75 peer reviewed articles and his team’s work has been featured in many international, national and local media outlets.

He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the faculty lead for the Harvard Medical School Civilian Military Collaborative , the emergency medicine lead for the Brigham and Women’s Center For Surgery and Public Health, the Civilian Military Advisor for the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation, an Ariadne Labs Associate Faculty Member and a US Navy veteran. He also currently served as the Chair, Disaster Medicine Section, American College of Emergency Physicians.

###

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation. To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation: www.homebase.org/podcast. To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate.

Pride in Service: Looking Backwards to Move Forward from Don't Ask Don't Tell - With U.S. Army Veterans Cliff Brown and Jade Griffiths

rhirschberg@partners.org (Cliff Brown, Jade Griffiths, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 18:00:00 +0000

Today we have the honor of sharing two U.S. veteran stories, both out gay military service members who were in basic training together fifteen years ago and have not seen each other since. Army Veterans Cliff Brown, who is a project manager at Home Base, and Jade Griffiths, who works today as a 911 dispatcher, talk to us and each other about how life was for them as LGBTQ-identifying soldiers during Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and after it was repealed, about President Trump’s 2017 reenactment of the Transgender service ban, and how things are going today. Like all periods of struggle for equal rights, you need to look backwards to look ahead, and it’s important for us to continue shed light on these issues and share peoples’ stories. As we near the end of June, we wanted to wish our listeners a Happy Pride month.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music in today's episode: "A Gentle Transition" by Immersive Music, purchased and licensed through Premium Beat; and "Lighter" by Crowander, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommericial 4.0 licensing term

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Doing The Right Thing - with U.S. Congressman (D-MA) and Marine veteran Seth Moulton

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 18:27:24 +0000

Today's episode is with U.S. Congressman (D-MA 6th District) and Marine veteran Seth Moulton. We connected with the Congressman after we spoke with Said Noor, the Afghani American U.S. Army Veteran who's episode we released last week. Said's mom and siblings were able to get out of Afghanistan about the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in August 2021, thanks in large part to Congressman Moulton and his team, including Director of Constituent Services Neesha Suarez, who worked with Said and U.S. military on the ground in Afghanistan to get to them safety. We spoke with Congressman Moulton not only about Said and how he and his team helped Said's family, but more generally about service, about his pivot to public service back in college, and how that has stayed with him ever since, always trying to do the right thing.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music in today's episode: "A Gentle Transition" by Immersive Music, purchased and licensed through Premium Beat.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Codeword: Tom Brady - Afghan American Army Veteran Said Noor and his 20-year mission to save his family from the Taliban

rhirschberg@partners.org (Said Noor, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 19:30:00 +0000

In today's episode, Ron Hirschberg talks with Said Noor, a proud Afghan American Army Veteran who first served for over eight years as an interpreter for the U.S. Army troops stationed near his village, before he was able to move to the U.S. on a special visa. A few years later, Said became a U.S. citizen, joined the U.S. Army, and redeployed back to the same area he had lived with his mom and eight siblings amidst many years of Taliban brutality, this time as a soldier. Said and Ron talk about Said's incredible story of service and his mission to fight the Taliban, his early years in Afghanistan, his time with the Army, and how in August 2021 he succeeded in his 20-year mission to keep his family safe. After months of advocacy, and with the help of MA Congressman Seth Moulton and in a small way football player Tom Brady, he was able to get his family on one of the last evacuation planes leaving Afghanistan, and safely to the U.S.

###

THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

###

Thank you Said Noor for your service, resilience and perseverance over 20 years to help your family and so many others with the common fight for humanity and peace.

Said joined us virtually from Houston in March 2022, seven months since his family safely left Kabul alongside the US military, following the suicide bombing attack killing 13 US servicemembers and injuring 100s of Afghans. Said takes us back to the time he first learned about the 9/11 attacks in the US. He was 11 years old, living with his mom and 8 siblings, all witnessing the Taliban beating his mom regularly, robbing her for money that was sent from dad who had been working in the UAE.

Said was fascinated with the US troops who soon became fixtures in the community, and although they appeared as if they were from another planet, they treated his family with immediate kindness – while the Taliban who spoke his same language were wreaking havoc all around him. For years Said and family would watch Stallone’s Rambo movies which would become his early lessons in the English language, and in 2007, Said officially became a translator for the US troops at age 17.

In 2014, Said left for the United States on special Visa, and in 2017 he became a US citizen. Before long he enlisted in the US Army and by 2018 was translating for the troops back in Afghanistan. Said was now a proud Afghan American serving our country, and in 2020 after being honorably discharged from the Army he returned as a US citizen to the same village he first saw those troops 20 years prior.

In 2021 Said had a new mission, to bring his whole family to the US – Not an easy task, even as a US Citizen and Army Veteran. His plea made it to Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton’s desk, and along with creative planning by staff member Neesha Suarez, made the mission a reality – On August 27th, Said’s family was instructed to enter the gates of the Kabul airport, get to a gas station and connect with a Marine to give the straight-out-of-Boston code word, “Tom Brady.”

A household name like Tom Brady to us New Englanders may not have meant anything to Said’s family at the time, but it’s now unforgettable for them all. The Buccaneers brought Said and fellow comrade and Patriots fan Steve Morse to Tampa for a game, and Mr. Brady sent a personal message thanking US Army Veteran Said Noor for his service to our country.

Said brings us deeper into his story of a kid that just wants his family to survive and thrive, and how in these times as we look to Ukraine, human suffering should never exist no matter what. Said is proud of the Afghan people, and of the US citizen and veteran he has become, and it’s really an honor to bring this conversation to you.

###

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

"Saved By A Song" with Grammy-nominated songwriter, author, and military family member Mary Gauthier

rhirschberg@partners.org (Mary Gauthier, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 7 Jun 2022 11:00:00 +0000

For our first episode of this year's Pride Month, Dr. Ron Hirschberg had the privilege of sitting with Mary Gauthier. Mary is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, author, a military family member and huge supporter of veterans, and a savior so many with her songs. Author of the new book Saved By A Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting, and with eleven original albums out (including the brand new album Dark Enough To See The Stars which was released in early June), Mary is a prolific artist. A New Orleans native, Mary spent many years grappling spiraling with addiction, alcohol, failed relationships, and depression before discovering her gift as a songwriter. Through song, she discovered that she could express things that she was not able to express in other ways, and gained a new confidence through writing and performing. She writes about trauma and resilience, about family, alcoholism, and her “three wars” growing up – Vietnam, her parents war with each other, and the war between she and her father, who served in the Korean War. She has co-written songs with veterans through the program Songwriting with Soldiers. She writes about love, pride, and healing. In today's episode, Mary and Ron speak about trauma, about the power of music to support healing for veterans and civilians alike, about pride, openness and being a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and so much more.

###

THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

The music heard in today's episode is by Mary Gauthier, and is used with the artist's permission. In order, the songs are: "Rifles & Rosary Beads" (co-written by Mary Gauthier and US. Army Veteran Joe Costello) off 2018 album Rifles & Rosary Beads, followed by "Fall Apart World", and "Dark Enough to See the Stars", off of the just-released 2022 album Dark Enough to See the Stars.

If you have not listened already, we have an episode called Warrior-Healer February 17th, 2020, that highlights a song cowritten by one of our veteran alumni at Home Base Air Force Veteran Blair Morin and James House through Songwriting with Soldiers.

Also, Mary and I met in 2018 on a podcast I was cohosting called Above The Basement. If you are interested in a show that covers the lives and stories of musicians, check out the show Produced and Hosted by my friend Chuck Clough, which has about 200 episodes in the vault. The episode we refer to in today’s conversation is #81, February 2018.

And Check out Mary’s conversation on the November 2021 Episode of Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast Broken Record

###

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth.

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Supporting the Peaceful Warrior - With Shawndin Tracy & Dino Haley of Navajo Nation and the Arizona VA

rhirschberg@partners.org (Shawndin Tracy, Dino Haley, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 31 May 2022 21:38:31 +0000

In today's episode, Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with Veteran Affairs (VA) social worker Dino Haley and VA Facility Rural Health Coordinator Shawndin Tracy, both currently based out of the Phoenix, Arizona VA. At 19 percent, Indigenous Americans have the highest per-capita of any ethnic group to serve in the U.S. military. There is a pride in service, in defending ones' country, as well as in working to preserve community, traditions and ways of life for indigenous communities. The Navajo people refer to themselves diné, which translates to "the people" or "children of the holy people" in Diné Bizaad. Dino and Shawndin work every day to serve indigenous veteran and military family communities. In this episode, they speak about the unique experience of indigenous veterans, the importance of honoring and using traditional healing practices with veterans once they've returned home, the barriers they face in providing care to their communities, and more.

Navajo Nation, which was established in 1868. With a size of over 27,000 miles, and spanning the borders of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, it’s the largest reservation in the U.S. In Diné Bizaad, the word for warrior is naabaahii. And the word for wellness, which also encompasses peace, harmony and balance, is expressed in the word hózhó. Dino Haley and Shawndin Tracy’s shared mission is to always find and restore hózhó for the Diné people and for all people, and to support the peaceful naabaahii, or warrior, in not only all those who serve but for the entire community.

The music heard at the beginning and end of this episode is a 2018 live recording of "Hozho Nahasdillii'" by Diné singer-songwriter Clara Natonabah.

_________

THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

_________

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

The music heard throughout this episode is "Hozho Nahasdillii'", by Diné singer-songwriter Clara Natonabah. This version was recorded live in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2018. This track is used with permission from the artist. Learn more about Clara and her music at www.facebook.com/claranatonabahmusic.

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Photo used for the episode art is of a memorial statue commemorating the WWII Navajo code talkers at the Navajo Nation Headquarters in Window Rock, AZ.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Infinite wisdom on a parking ticket: Army Veteran JR Martinez's story of "Amitābhaḥ"

rhirschberg@partners.org (JR Martinez, Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 23 May 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Amitābha

Check out JR's Podcast! - Rebirth With JR Martinez

-----

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

**REMEMBER FOLKS THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music credits include "Cadillac" by Ron Hirschberg.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Actor, Author, Advocate & U.S. Army Veteran JR Martinez | #MentalHealthAction Day

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, JR Martinez) — Thu, 19 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This is the second of two episodes this week in honor Mental Health Action Day which this year fell on Thursday, May 19th. Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with U.S. Army Veteran, burn survivor, actor, motivational speaker, The New York Times best-selling author of the book Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength, and Spirit, and Dancing with the Stars Season 13 winner. Ron and JR talk about service, survival - or rebirth as JR describes it - overcoming trauma and resilience, the importance of connecting with the world and with others, and so much more.

---

May is mental health awareness month. The second annual Mental Health Action Day was Thursday May 19, 2022. Setting the theme of “connection,” MTV and about 1,700 companies and organizations will drive calls to action to address the surge of loneliness and isolation felt by millions because of the pandemic. Mental Health Action Day is an open-source movement to drive culture from mental health awareness to mental health action. The 1,700 partners will encourage people to take their first steps towards mental health action. Free resources and tools, such as an employer toolkit and platforms for hosting and organizing events, are available for organizations and groups to help support their audiences through a myriad of ways – from starting a meditation practice to learning how to support a friend to advocating for change. For more information on how you can participate, please visit MentalHealthActionDay.org.

On Thursday, May 19 at 4:00m ET, Home Base, Paramount Veterans Network, Movember, GI GoFund, FourBlock, Veterans In Media & Entertainment, Empire Vets, Student Veterans of America, Operation Homefront, Wounded Warrior Project, and JobPath came together to create an amazing panel on “Making Connections for Mental Health & Wellness”. The session was moderated by CBS New York’s very own, John Elliott joined by an esteem panel of mental wellness experts including veterans. Opening remarks were given by Stephen Hill of CBS’ Magnum P.I. You can watch the event here. For more information you can visit Paramount Veterans Network at www.paramountvetnet.com.

---

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

**REMEMBER FOLKS THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music credits include "Cadillac" by Ron Hirschberg.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Country Star & US Army Veteran Craig Morgan | #MentalHealthAction Day

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Craig Morgan) — Mon, 16 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000

This is the first of two episodes this week in honor Mental Health Action Day which this year fell on Thursday, May 19th. Dr. Ron Hirschberg talks with U.S. Army Veteran and country music artist Craig Morgan. Craig spent nearly 11 years with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, serving in both Panama and Desert Storm. As a country music artist for more than 20 years, Craig has had 25 songs on the Billboard Charts, including his songs - "Almost Home", "This Ole Boy", "Wake Up Loving You", and the four-week No. 1 hit "That’s What I Love About Sunday". Ron and Craig talk about service, the healing power of music, the loss of Craig's son Jerry in 2016 that led to the powerful and beautiful song, "The Father, My Son, and the Holy Ghost", and about the CBS/Paramount hit show "Beyond The Edge," set in the jungles of Panama that Craig co-stars in along with eight others. The season finale of Beyond The Edge aired Wednesday, May 18 at 9pm ET. You can watch this season on Paramount+.

---

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

**REMEMBER FOLKS THE ANNUAL RUN TO HOME BASE IS 7-30-22 THIS YEAR! ALL FUNDRAISING GOES DIRECTLY TO THE CARE OF OUR VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES, SO SIGN UP HERE: www.runtohomebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music credits include: "Warrior-Healer" by James House, Blair Morin

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

U.S. Army Veteran & cancer survivor Brandi Benson on her mission to "defeat with purpose"

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Brandi Benson) — Mon, 9 May 2022 16:30:00 +0000

Today's episode features a conversation with Brandi Benson, U.S. Army veteran and author of the book "The Enemy Within: A Young Soldier's Unexpected Battle with Cancer." Brandi, a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, cancer survivor, and outspoken mental health advocate, was only twenty-four and a few months into her first deployment when she was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, possibly due to toxic exposure while she was deployed. Dr. Ron Hirschberg speaks with Brandi about her beginnings in the military and being forced to return home from war only to have to continue fighting, this time the "enemy within," cancer. Today, Brandi is an inspiring and outspoken cancer survivor and tireless advocate of mental health and wellness.

For information on Brandi, please visit www.brandilbenson.com. You can purchase her book here.

The HunterSeven Foundation's mission is to research military exposures and their impact on the health of the veteran population, with the intention of sharing the data with the veteran and healthcare communities through education to increase awareness of exposures and the impact on veteran health. For more information on the HunterSeven Foundation and their work, please visit their website www.hunterseven.org.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music in today's episode composed by Lucy Little.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

What Yoga, Bird Watching, and Home Base All Have in Common - with U.S. Army veteran Joshua Maloney

rhirschberg@partners.org (Joshua Maloney, Ron Hirschberg, Lucy Little) — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 20:01:29 +0000

Today's episode is another installment of Home Base Nation: Veteran Stories with Joshua Maloney, a Cape Cod-based U.S. Army and Army Reserves veteran. Josh is no stranger to Home Base, having participated in our Training for First Responders when he was a Barnstable, MA police officer, and as a patient with us in 2019 when he participated in our Intensive Care Programs, or ICP. Today, Josh works with the Veterans Yoga Project a yoga teacher and as their New England Regional Director, is a full-time student at MA Maritime Academy, studying marine science, safety, environmental protection, and is an avid bird watcher. In our conversation with Josh, he shared openly about his journey from active duty to now, telling us what service means to him, about his dark struggles with depression and alcoholism, what finally led him to seek help, and how mindfulness and wellness practices like yoga, bird watching, and his developing career in environmental protection not only helped him overcome his PTSD and save his life, but have helped him become the incredible advocate that he is today for himself, his fellow veterans, and the world.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music credits include:
Piano music written by Lucy Little and performed by Cheryl Freeze
"Cadillac" by Ron Hirschberg
"Fish Ladder" by Ron Hirschberg

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Strong: The Journey of Dr. Patrick Downes Before and After the Boston Marathon Bombing

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Patrick Downes) — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode brings us back home - to Home Base, and to Boston. Dr. Patrick Downes is a psychologist at Home Base and a survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Speaking with Patrick, you immediately can see that this is someone who embodies the essence of someone who serves those who serve. A Cambridge, MA native and Boston College alumnus, Patrick started his psychology training in 2012, and planned to pursue a career as a youth psychologist. Nine years ago this week, on April 15th, 2013, Patrick and his wife Jessica were standing near the finish line, cheering on the marathon runners as they crossed, when their lives changed forever. Even with all his previous work and training, Patrick says that it was that day that truly taught him the meaning of trauma. Both he and his wife became amputees, receiving care across Boston at Beth Israel, Boston Medical Hospital, and Spaulding Rehab. They had the opportunity that not a lot of civilians get to continue with their rehabilitation at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and he tells us that there was something about healing alongside this community of veterans that he really didn’t expect, and that would change his life for the better. Today, he serves veterans with us at Home Base, bringing a combination of his lifelong commitment to service, his personal experiences and lived trauma, and his academic and medical knowledge to those who need help. For these reasons and so many more, we’re excited to bring you this conversation in the week leading up to the 2022 Boston Marathon.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

Additional music credits include:
Piano music written by Lucy Little and performed by Cheryl Freeze
"Cadillac" by Ron Hirschberg
"Fish Ladder" by Ron Hirschberg

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

A Coincidental Conversation in an Uber: Wise Words from a First-Generation Cuban-American Vietnam Veteran

rhirschberg@partners.org (Otty Garcia, Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 4 Apr 2022 17:30:00 +0000

Picture this: you get into an Uber on your way to the airport in Los Angeles, and after some light exchanges with your driver, you learn that he is a Vietnam veteran. The infamous LA traffic fades away as you learn more about his life and service, and before you know it, thirty minutes have gone by and you're already at the airport. Well, that's what happened to Ron Hirschberg the other week as he was a podcast conference in Los Angeles. In a first for Home Base Nation, we're excited to bring you into the field with Ron to meet Otty Garcia, a first-generation Cuban American who served for four years overseas in Vietnam, and to learn a bit about his story, his advice to younger soldiers and veterans today, and more. So, hop into the car and come along for the ride!

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs
Music within episode from Free Music Archive, and include clips from "Really Beautiful, My Mambo" (Jean Toba) and "De Cuba" (SONGO 21)
Field recordings from freesound.org.

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Combat, Comedy & Feeling the Laugh Again - A Conversation with U.S. Army veteran, comedian, and musician Thom Tran

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Thom Tran) — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 18:15:00 +0000

Thom Tran wears many hats, just like his dad. He’s a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant and paratrooper, a first generation Vietnamese-American, a Purple Heart recipient, and a ‘triple-threat’ entertainer - an actor, musician, and comedian. Thom’s father was a pilot in the South Vietnamese air force, and was a POW for three years before escaping, getting his family to a refugee camp, and then later immigrating the whole family to the U.S. Growing up, Thom wanted to be a punk rocker (specifically, Van Halen), but instead joined the army at 18, retiring from active duty after being shot in the head during his first deployment. After returning, Thom channeled his love of rock n’ roll and comedy into a professional career as a stand-up comedian, and uses this platform to deal with the lifetime of war and trauma he and his family has faced. Thom has done so much for others in both his military and comedy careers, including founding GIs of Comedy, described as a “comedic troupe of troops.” He does such a great job at making people laugh, and relies on comedy to do the same for himself. The music heard in this episode is a live recording of Thom’s band The Bridge Crüe playing Eddie Money’s song “Shakin’”.

###

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Theme music for Home Base Nation: "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs
Music within episode provided by Thom Tran, live cover Eddie Money's song "Shakin'," performed by Thom's band The Bridge Crüe
Comedy clips of and provided by Thom Tran, live recording of a performance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, CA

Follow Home Base on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

The Home Base Nation Team is Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg
Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little
Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

When a Rock D.J. Deploys - A Conversation with Mistress Carrie and General Jack Hammond

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Many deployed troops are lovers of rock music, and those deployed from the New England area would send Boston's beloved radio DJ and podcast host Mistress Carrie letters from Iraq and Afghanistan. A vehement supporter of U.S. troops and veterans, she wanted to find a way to give back, and in 2006 she made her way to Iraq, as the first non-news journalist embedded with troops there, before "deploying" for a second time in Afghanistan in 2011, where she met Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond, who was leading command in Kabul at the time. He tells us how a civilian, purple-haired rock DJ managed to fit right in, and Carrie tells us how she felt a connection with the troops, which is not surprising when you meet her. For the first episode of Home Base Nation's fourth season, Boston Rock DJ and podcast host Mistress Carrie stops by the Home Base Center of Excellence to speak with Ron about why supporting veterans matters so much and how she views service, and to catch up with Gen. Hammond. The two talk about their time spent together in Kabul, Afghanistan 11 years ago, during her second "deployment" as a non-news journalist, before reflecting together a special moment when they reflect on one very special mission she was given that they will both never forget.

Listen to the Mistress Carrie Podcast for great conversations about rock and many others things, and check out Mistress Carrie's "War Room" every Tuesday night at 8:30PM EST on Facebook Live.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

Episode Music:

Theme Music for Mistress Carrie Podcast by Sully Erna of Godsmack

Acoustic piece "Warrior" by James House and AF Veteran Blair Morin

Intro/theme music for HBN "Rolling the tree" by The Butler Frogs

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little

Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate

Home Base Nation: Season Four Starts March 21st

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 13:00:00 +0000

Home Base Nation is back for season four on March 21st! Today, amidst the global fear and exhaustion that exists for both military and civilian communities, we know that we can’t lose hope, and we bring you this season with a renewed sense of purpose. This season, we will bring you more conversations with - and stories about - veterans, service members, military families, and the artists, athletes, comedians, activists, who all share stories of transition and resilience from challenge and trauma, and the work being done to stomp the stigma around seeking care for these invisible wounds. Join us most Monday afternoons, at homebase.org/homebasenation, and subscribe and listen on Apple, iHeart, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202, or visit www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little

Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate

(Season Four Teaser) The War in Ukraine & Military Mental Health - With Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond & Mistress Carrie

Thu, 3 Mar 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Season Four of Home Base Nation will start in just a few weeks, and we have been working over the past few months to bring you another great season. Given what is going on in the world right now, our mental health and military community has its finger on the pulse with you all and our hearts are with the Ukrainian people and all those trying to escape the violence in the Ukraine right now. We sat down on Tuesday to record an upcoming episode with Mistress Carrie, Boston’s beloved Rock DJ and spouse of an active-duty Marine, in conversation with our very own Brigadier General Jack Hammond. The two met in 2011 in Afghanistan, when General Hammond was leading command, and Mistress Carrie embedded herself with U.S. troops there. During this recording, the conversation turned to the situation in the Ukraine, and specifically how it might be affecting our veteran and military family communities. We acknowledge that this new conflict will stir up complicated emotions and memories among our veterans, active-duty troops, and all our military families, and we felt it was important to share this with our audience today, ahead of the full episode release.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little

Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate

Words of Strength and Healing From Our Guests - Happy and Healthy 2022!

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 17:16:10 +0000

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, Taylor Orlando, with COO Michael Allard, Brigadier General Jack Hammond, and Peter Smyth

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Sound, Editor: Lucy Little

Chairman, Home Base Media Lab: Peter Smyth

Cover Design: Abby Hirschberg

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

To Donate to Home Base where every dollar goes to the care of veterans and military families that is cost to them, go to: www.homebase.org/donate

70 Years of Love From Above: Operation Christmas Drop

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Operation Christmas Drop - Official Trailer / Netflix

The Guam Daily Post - Article on OCD

Learn more about OCD:

"Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest running humanitarian airdrop training mission, providing critical supplies to many Micronesian islands, impacting more than 20,000 people across 1.8 million square nautical miles of operating area. The drop is the oldest ongoing Department of Defense mission which remains in full operation. The operation was first conducted in 1951, when the aircrew of a WB-29 aircraft assigned to the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, formerly assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, was flying a mission to the south of Guam over the Micronesian atoll of Kapingamarangi. When they saw the islanders waving to them, the crew quickly gathered some items they had on the plane, placed them in a container with a parachute attached and dropped the cargo as they circled again. In 2015, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force participated in the operation along with the United States Air Force. Japan and Australia each provided one C-130 Hercules to join the three C-130s provided by the United States. In 2019, Royal New Zealand Air Force has joined Operation Christmas Drop. This is also 7th year in a row that allied partners from the Japan Self-Defense Force and the Royal Australian Air Force have participated This year 2021, South Korea joins our AF in the largest to date, 200 bundles and 57 islands…"

_____

Photo Credit: 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Music and sound design by Lucy Little
Ukelele and piano played by Cheryl Freeze
Christmas music at 09:00 from Free Music Archive, by Scott Holmes Music

...Thank you to Dr. April Hirschberg for the episode inspiration!

_____

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Stories from the Intrepid - What Prince Harry, an iconic WWII aircraft carrier, and three brave Americans can teach us

Tue, 7 Dec 2021 21:03:24 +0000

The Intrepid Valor Award - Honorees included Air Force Veteran / Master Sgt (Ret) Kyle Hines, Surviving Spouse of Lt Col Matt Block, Barbara Block, Army Special Forces Veteran Julian Kitching, US Navy Servicemember Wayne “Ty” Garvin, and Marine / Chief Warrant Officer Stephen Rudinksi.

"Service isn't loud. Service is what happens in the quiet and when people aren't looking. It's about how we take care of each other every single day. It's about the camaraderie we share, the laughs, the comfort, the pain, the challenge and yes, the banter. Throughout my time in the military and after, I recognized and understood that for many who have served, or are still serving, it might not feel right to stand out amongst the team and be recognized. But you deserve to be recognized."

-Prince Harry Duke of Sussex / 11-10-21 / Salute To Freedom

The US National Anthem was sung by MJ Songstress

---

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Kernels of Gratitude - Happy Thanksgiving From The Home Base Family Table

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 05:00:00 +0000

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Serving Country, Family and Health - Featuring Major General (Ret.) Patrick Sargent, SVP DoD Healthcare at OptumServe

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, General Patrick Sargent) — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 19:56:54 +0000

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

A Salute to Freedom, and A Home Base Salute to all Veterans and Military Families

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 22:54:32 +0000

Salute To Freedom Gala: The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

TEXT to give: HBDONATE to 617-582-2098 Or call NOW: (866)-615-8387

Or anytime WWW.WCVB.COM/HOMEBASE

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Music texture and sound design by: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Battlefield of Dreams - Featuring Green Beret Nate Boyer

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Nate Boyer) — Fri, 5 Nov 2021 18:00:00 +0000

This conversation was recorded in August, 2021 at the time of the US was pulling troops out of Afghanistan. HBN released this relevant content on all of our minds that week: Your Sacrifice Matters (8/23/21)

Today we dive into Nate’s work and experiences at home. What moved him towards the military and about what he continues to do for his own form of service. Looking backwards, Nate’s story seems to fit together at every turn. But what’s behind the scenes is always seeing opportunity, along with grit and dedication at every step, not to mention learning from the natives whether in the locker room with the Seahawks, shoulder to shoulder with the Afghans, or on the movie set learning how to tell the stories we need to know about.

Nate continues to serve in many ways, and cofounded Merging Vets And Players (MVP) along with partner Jay Glazer, has acted in several roles, and is now in the process of releasing the movie he directed that outlines the genesis of MVP and what it means, about the bonds shared and finding belonging and meaning for new chapters for Athletes, Special Operators and all veterans returning home to civilian life.

Here is the full conversation we had at our Home Base Center of Excellence following a memorable Red Sox game the night before, where Nate’s friend and supporter of MVP First baseman Kyle Schwarber took the plate at Fenway. It’s been about two months since, and although the Sox didn’t make it to the end this year, I do remember Kyle’s grand slam during the playoffs 2 weeks ago and thought of how Nate in California was feeling the same energy of that stadium as everyone else.

Thanks to Green Beret Nate Boyer for your service, and your ongoing efforts to serve others.

We’d like to dedicate these conversations with Nate to his friend and colleague Master Sergeant Brad Keys who still guides Nate to this day, and through Nate he gives that guidance and support to many others.

On November 11, 2021 join us at WCVB/ABC Boston Televent if local and / or text to give: HBDONATE to 617-582-2098
The number to call in for the phone bank day-of on November 11, 2021: (866)-615-8387

______________

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Music texture and sound design by: Lucy Little

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

"Soldier on" was co-written by Nate Boyer and Darden Smith, with the program Songwriting With Soldiers

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Resetting The Mission - Featuring Psychologist and Author of PTSD Unplugged Dr. Pam Hall

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Pam Hall, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 16:30:00 +0000

Many thanks for Dr. Pam Hall who has devoted years and her own service to our servicemen and women who’ve experience trauma and stress in their lives.

Check out her new book: PTSD Unplugged and see Dr. Pam’s website to learn more.

Remember if you want to sign up for Home Base No-Shave November to directly support the care at Home Base, sign up at www.homebase.org/noshave

If you are local, check out the Boston Televent, an all-day program on Veterans Day (11/11/21 )on ABC/Channel 5 WVCB to see how you can support our veterans and military families.

Thank you for listening. And if you haven’t already, please subscribe to us at Home Base Nation wherever you listen and please write a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you.

This episode was co-produced and edited by Lucy Little.

______________

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Music texture and sound design by: Lucy Little

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Inside and Outside the Mask: Art Therapy At Home Base

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 18:23:00 +0000

...Mask work is steeped in human history, and in many cultures around the world. Mask therapy work with service members stems from the work of Art Therapist Melissa Walker at Creative Forces at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (or NICoE), part of Walter Reed Medical Center. The language of trauma may not be accessed, or not there at all. And we recognize that the important thing here is the process of creating a unique and personalized mask – so that the conversations can accompany or follow...

Very special thanks to Air Force Veteran John Hicks for your service and for helping us to learn more.

Thank you to Dr. Lisa Wong of arts and humanities at Harvard Medical School for joining us, and to Home Base’s own Jenn Kneeland, expressive arts therapist for all you do.

We hope you have enjoyed Home Base Stories, and if you haven’t already, please subscribe to us at Home Base Nation wherever you listen and please write a review on Apple Podcasts. Thank you.

This episode was co-produced and edited by Lucy Little.

______________

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

To SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer, Editor: Lucy Little

Music texture and sound design by: Lucy Little

Theme/closing music: The Butler Frogs

Transcription assistance: Abby Hirschberg

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Did I Make It? - Featuring Navy SEAL Kevin Lacz

rhirschberg@partners.org (Navy SEAL Veteran Kevin Lacz, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Fri, 15 Oct 2021 18:35:29 +0000

Former United States Navy SEALKevin Lacz served two tours in 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq. He is a decorated veteran, writer, actor, physician assistant. Originally from New England and a loyal Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins fan, he currently lives with his wife Lindsey and their two kids in the panhandle of Florida.

Kevin is also a creative guy who found himself taking on a few roles in the movie world, notably playing himself (Dauber) in Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of the Chris Kyle autobiography American Sniper. And in 2016 he wrote his own memoir, The Last Punisher about his experience in Ramadi during those day with Chris Kyle, Jonny Kim, Ryan Job, Jocko Willink, Mike Monsoor, and Marc Alan Lee, who he talks about during this interview, a colleague and friend who was both compassionate and as tough as they come.

Kevin talks about the truly challenging nature of transitioning back home to civilian life, and that for SEALS and other Special Operators, there can be a real sense of respect, control and belonging that is profound – And when back home, it’s huge change – It’s about redefining one’s self and finding new passions, new meaning.

He just published a book called The Veteran’s Workbook, about how to transition back to the work force post military, along with Bill Hobbs and his wife Lindsey Lacz that connects to that concept of belonging. He and Lindsey and their kids live in Florida, actively shuttling back and forth to scouts and gymnastics and busy. They also run Hunting For Healing, a charitable organization that brings disabled veterans hunting, fishing and outdoor activity, and reconnecting with each other and family.

Note: News clip source: Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), given a speech on the House floor in December 2020

- This conversation was recorded virtually in June 2021 -

***To Sign Up For No-Shave 2021, Please Go To: www.homebase.org/noshave

______________

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

To learn more about Hunting For Healing, click HERE.

To SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer: Lucy Little

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Dedication To The Soldier - Featuring Lieutenant General Gary Brito / Deputy Chief of Staff US Army

rhirschberg@partners.org (BG Jack Hammond, Ron Hirschberg, LTG Gary Brito) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 16:48:34 +0000

- This conversation was recorded virtually in April, 2021 -

The many challenges of the pandemic including stress, anxiety, and isolation, caused an increase in mental health challenges for our Veterans and a spike in suicides amongst our military members. The recent triggering effects of the evacuation from Afghanistan and growing humanitarian crisis has made a bad situation worse and created a perfect storm of events that will require our clinical staff to grow to meet the needs of our warriors and families.

Together, we have raised more than $1.8 MILLION – And we have a goal for this year to get to $2 MILLION! If you want to contribute any amount, DONATE here. THANK YOU!

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

To learn more about SFC Cashe and Medal of Honor click here.

To SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, Lucy Little, and COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Assistant Producer: Lucy Little

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Goodnight Saigon, written by Billy Joel was played in background along with announcer and applause at Fenway Park on 9-25-21 as Home Base Staff and visiting military members walked across the outfield

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Creativity, Sports and Service - Featuring Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 02:34:56 +0000

It is hard to know where to begin with our next HBN guest. It makes sense to begin with a recent award for service at the White House just a few months ago. The second-highest award from the head of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service for his work with the Red Sox Foundation in creating Home Base, along with our partner Massachusetts General Hospital.

Creativity is the common thread to our guest’s entire career… As he and his creative and successful teams hold other awards you may have heard of like multiple Emmys and Golden Globes and of course … (4) World Series Championships, and several trophies and a title in England’s Premiere Football League.

Yes, this can only be Tom Werner, but with all the awards and accolades mentioned, Tom shows how much pride he has in Home Base, which began following a Red Sox team visit to the White House and Walter Reed Medical Center in 2008, and a conversation with MGH and Red Sox physician Dr. Larry Ronan.

Tom has had a unique path to serving veterans and the country’s military families of all eras, and having grown up in NYC with a father who had served in WWII, experiencing loss and trauma.

And on this 20th anniversary of 9/11, he talks about that day and the flight he had been scheduled to be on leaving Boston’s Logan airport.

Tom began studying government, graduating Harvard in 1971, and he was intrigued by documentary work, which led to producing and developing iconic American TV shows - Taxi, Soap, and Mork and Mindy, then on to creating The Cosby Show, Roseanne and others.

And later to the sports world, where he would eventually become Chairman of the Boston Red Sox in 2001 and Chairman of the Liverpool Football Club in 2010.

It’s fitting to talk with Tom Werner 20 years after a day that none of us will ever forget, and a two-decade war to follow, that has created trauma and stress for so many veterans and their families. As our servicemembers return to community, we can do more than thank them, as Tom tells me and we can continue to support their mental physical health so they can thrive as best as possible.

With many thanks to Brigadier General Jack Hammond for your service, for your Home Base leadership, and these reflections on the 20th anniversary of 9/11

Notes:

Crowd at Fenway Park singing Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond

Crowd at Liverpool Premiere Football Title ceremony singing You'll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers

____

Please SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

To DONATE to the 12th annual Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Your Sacrifice Matters - With Green Beret Nate Boyer

rhirschberg@partners.org (Green Beret Nate Boyer, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 23 Aug 2021 04:05:26 +0000

Thank You Nate Boyer for your service and missions that began even before joining the military, and thanks for your advocacy for your fellow veterans and those who continue to need a voice in Afghanistan.

To every human that fought for the people of Afghanistan. And especially to those that didn’t make it back: YOUR SACRIFICE MATTERS. It has to. Because if yours doesn’t than mine doesn’t. We can’t lose hope and believe it was all for nothing. It was for humanity if nothing more. - 8.16.21 Nate Boyer

Please SUBSCRIBE to Home Base Nation to receive the full episode with Nate Boyer and all other conversations and content.

If you are your loved one is experiencing any emotional, mental health struggles, you are not alone and please contact Home Base at 617-724-5202, or www.homebase.org

To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here. (Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)*

This episode was recorded on August 21st, 2021 at Home Base in Charlestown, MA.

Soldier On was written by Nate Boyer and Darden Smith through Songwriting With Soldiers

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Roommates and Rifles: Back From Tokyo 2020! - With Military Olympians / US Army Active Duty Soldiers SPC Alison Weisz and SPC Sagen Maddelana

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 21:18:16 +0000

Click to learn more about SPC Maddelana, SPC Weisz, and the team at US Army Marksmanship Unit

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here. (Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)

This episode was recorded on August 6th, 2021 via Zoom from Boston, MA to Fort Benning, GA

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Boston Bonus: Tribute to Boston Fire Lt. and Navy Veteran Paul Hoban - 1st Annual Memorial Golf Tournament 8-16-21

rhirschberg@partners.org (Mike Haggerty, Shane Hoban) — Sun, 8 Aug 2021 21:17:21 +0000

Boston Fire Lieutenant and Navy Veteran Paul Hoban First Annual Memorial Golf Tournament on August 16th, 2021 at 0800 at George Wright golf course in Boston benefitting the Home Base Program. Paul was a United Stated Navy Veteran who served in the Middle East and joined the Boston Fire Department in 1989, serving in numerous positions and firehouses in Boston. Lt. Hoban received numerous certificates and training with the department including HazMat, EMT and the Dive team and was a first responder during the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

The tournament held on August 16th will be in a four-person team scramble with various raffles and prizes throughout the day. After the tournament, there will be a reception at the Lower Mills Tavern at 2PM where there will be over 50 raffle prizes that include Red Sox tickets, free rounds of golf, gift certificates to local restaurants and much more. If you would like to register or are interested in sponsorship, email shaneghl7@yahoo.com

Our condolences from all of us at Home Base to MyraBeth, Shane and Rachel Hoban, and our heartfelt gratitude for the gift that Paul continues to give so many at Home Base through this tournament and beyond.

https://homebase.org/news/lt-paul-hoban-memorial-golf-tournament/

https://www.firerescue1.com/firefighter-death/articles/mass-city-closes-streets-for-funeral-of-boston-firefighter-H9LlS9ZZqncELCmn/

Always Looking Ahead of The Ball - Featuring WWII Army Veteran Marvin Gilmore

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Mon, 2 Aug 2021 14:31:01 +0000

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here. (Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)

This episode was recorded at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, in Boston, MA, on April 29,th 2021.

Marvin Gilmore: Crusader For Freedom - By Paul Katzeff

For more on Mr. Marvin Gilmore, tune in recent story on Chronicle to learn more.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Maureen Roderick, Laurie Gallagher, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Fulfillment Of Trust, Part II - Featuring General (Ret.) Fred M. Franks, Jr.

rhirschberg@partners.org (General Fred M. Franks Jr, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 03:38:17 +0000

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here. (Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)

This episode was recorded at the Kensington Golf and Country Club in Naples, FL on May 6th, 2021

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Fulfillment Of Trust, Part I - Featuring General (Ret.) Fred M. Franks, Jr.

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Ron Hirschberg, General Fred M. Franks Jr) — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 18:25:17 +0000

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here. (Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)

This episode was recorded at the Kensington Golf and Country Club in Naples, FL on May 6th, 2021

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Rebuilding Lives - Featuring Brigadier General (Ret.) Tom Landwermeyer, President and CEO of Homes For Our Troops

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 17:48:47 +0000

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here.

(Enter promo code "PODCAST" for $5.00 off registration fee)

Click here to learn more about Homes For Our Troops

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Theme music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Leveling All The Playing Fields - Featuring Executive Director of The Red Sox Foundation Bekah Salwasser

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Bekah Salwasser, Lauren Richards) — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 02:37:22 +0000

*To sign up for the in-person Run To Home Base at Fenway Park on Saturday, September 25th, click here.

Click here to learn more about Bekah Salwasser and The Red Sox Foundation

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Shea Hammond, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs, Darden Smith, and James House

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

37,000 Flags for the Fallen with the Mass Military Heroes Fund and Home Base - Memorial Day on Boston Common - 2021

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Wed, 2 Jun 2021 02:37:52 +0000

Home Base Program and the Mass Military Heroes Fund are both 12 years ago this year, founded in 2009. The MMHF shares in its mission with Home Base, an initial support of post 9/11 veterans and their families, and each year the Memorial Day Flag Planting reveals 37,000 flags that represent those tied to MA who lost their lives in all wars since the Revolutionary War.

www.homebase.org

www.massmilitaryheroes.org

Beyond The Battlefield: Stories Of War That Bring Us Together - Featuring Army Veteran Jessica Rivera and Green Beret Kevin Trujillo

Sat, 29 May 2021 17:26:18 +0000

This year marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and on this Memorial Day, with Covid clearing, Memorial Day seems to come with a collection of emotions. As vaccinations rise, masks come off and people start to congregate more and more - Up the road at Fenway Park and cheering on the Bruins around the corner from Home Base as they make their way in the playoffs.

And looking back one year exactly, we hosted an event called Beyond The Battlefield - To bring veteran storytelling to our community, connecting civilian and military culture in a unique way. Home Base clinical psychologist Dr. Daria Mamon knew of an Israeli group called Resisim that hosts events for veterans to tell their story to their families, and their communities - The goals are simple: To help with stress of war for the veteran, while at the same time provide a way for civilians to have a deeper understanding of war and conflict. So Daria, along with clinical social worker Kat Dunford brought storytelling to Home Base, providing veterans and service members the tools to tell their own story.

Thank you Kevin Trujillo and Jessica Rivera for your service, and for all you do to continue to serve. These stories are yours but become ours to share and we hope can not only help with the healing process, but bridge the civilian-military gap that is so common in the US and other countries.

Thank you to Dr. Daria Mamon and Kat Dunford for creating Beyond The Battlefield and the forum for these narratives to be built.

The Home Base Family Outreach team is ready and available to connect, offering support and treatment to veterans and military and families. For all needs or any questions, please connect at www.homebase.org, or 617-724-5202.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: "Blessings" by Darden Smith / "Dragonfly" by Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Common Goals - Featuring Boston Bruins Defenseman Kevan Miller

rhirschberg@partners.org (ryan vander weit, kevan miller, ron hirschberg) — Mon, 10 May 2021 01:59:46 +0000

-This virtual conversation was originally recorded on November 18th, 2020-

Kevin Miller is a defensemen for the Boston Bruins, in his 7th season. Pre-Covid, he was injured at the knee during the 2019-20 season, and is now back on the ice for the 2020-21 season, resilient and rehabbed. Kevan came to Boston's WCVB Home Base Televent for Veterans Day 2019, bringing friend and fellow Bruin Brad Marchand to answer the phones to help our team raise awareness and funds to cover the care of our veterans and families. Kevan and Brad are good buddies in and out of the rink, one from Southern CA and the other from Canada that also share the love of fishing, hunting and just being outdoors, so they started an outdoor apparel and outfitting business called March and Mill Co. They brought along fellow hunters and veterans for their inaugural veteran hunt in 2019, and look forward to more of these trips post NHL season. Check out their adventures from Utah to Canada in March and Mill Co TV - It’s brotherhood off the ice and of of course with some good time competition - Who will pull up the biggest fish, or who gets the bullseye with the compound bow.

Since age 5, Kevan has been hooked on hockey, but his other passions for the outdoors, our veterans and military families, and of course his own growing family show how keeping well is all about that balance of work, play and giving back.

...Thanks to Kevan Miller for your time and advocacy for veterans and families, and for taking us inside your passions outside the rink - with a new business and effort to get people outdoors and connect. We look forward to coming back to the Garden to see you and your own brothers take on the competition and bring another Stanley Cup to our town, ?Maybe this year. Things are looking good I hear.

Many thanks to cohost today Army Veteran and director of WHF program at Home Base, Ryan Vander Weit.

____________

The Home Base Family Outreach team is ready and available to connect, offering support and treatment to veterans and military and families. For all needs or any questions, please connect at www.homebase.org, or 617-724-5202.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

The Service of Sesame Street - Featuring Rocio Galarza, Vice President of US Social Impact at Sesame Workshop

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 03:00:39 +0000

At Home Base, the team has cared for more than 25,000 veterans, and we know that connected to each veteran is a family who also serves. Change and injury affect everyone, and the kids, no matter how resilient, can benefit from our support and care. April is a special month, Month of the Military Child, initiated in 1986 by the DOD - a legacy of the Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. Military children are connected through all branches of the military… and all with their own culture and color - With Air Force blue, Army green, Navy blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue— these colors combine as a Total Force to form purple. And this week, remember to wear Purple on April 15th for Purple Up day to recognize our military families and to thank all the kids for their sacrifice and service to us all.

As the times and needs change, content has grown, benefitting kids, adults and all caregivers. In 2019, the USAA along with the Bob Woodruff Foundation partnered to create Sesame Street for Military Families: Caregiving. It’s a hub for kids and families, with games, videos and educational material for both children and adults. And of course featuring two of our military kids, Rosita and Elmo. Rosita’s dad is Ricardo, a US veteran who was injured while deployed in 2008 and is wheel chair user and a TBI survivor. Her good pal Elmo’s dad Louie is a fellow “service-monster.” They get through tough times and have fun times together, and the same with their own families on “sunny days, cloudy days, and the stormy days…”

Thank you very much to Rocio Galarza for this conversation and for all you do for our service members, veterans and their families, and go to: https://sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org for everything offered to both military and civilian families going through challenging times. Many thanks to Brit Edwards, and the team at Sesame Street Workshop for all you do!

Thank you to Home Base's own Betsy Hart of the family outreach team for your personal and family perspectives, and a very special thanks to the Hart family for your service.

______

The Home Base Family Outreach team is ready and available to connect, offering support and treatment kids and families. For military connected children and family needs or any questions, please connect at www.homebase.org, or 617-724-5202.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base Nation:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Strengthening the Team, In and Out of Fenway – with Red Sox Athletic Performance Coordinator and US Air Force Veteran, Mike Roose

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Mike Roose) — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 02:02:09 +0000

Thanks very much to our guest, US Air Force Veteran Mike Roose for your service and what you continue to do for all of us on and off the field.

Home Base is a partnership of MGH and The Red Sox Foundation – And as we look at moving forward to spring 2021 and baseball season, these two institutions give all of us a little more hope.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs

Photo: The MGH Photography Lab

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

New Age Of Psychedelics: Science, Trauma, and Treatment

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 05:39:26 +0000

Last night on March 9th, The MGH Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics welcomed award winning author and Professor Michael Pollan to join Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum and team to celebrate the launching of this exciting and novel effort at Mass General.

The conversation was introduced by social change activist and philanthropist Dick Simon who appropriately held up Pollan's 2018 book "How to change your mind."

It was clear that although psychedelics for mental health have been proposed and studied for about 100 years, Simon referred to what many people in the field call time periods of "BP and AP" or Before Pollan and After Pollan.

Since his 2018 book, the field continues to evolve and Pollan mentioned that a Center like this is just the right place to continue to explore and create new treatments. He said that although he expected to meet some resistance by mainstream psychiatry, on the contrary he found at MGH a willingness and openness to move forward. He noted that the "return of psychedelics" to Harvard just makes sense and is a big event, given the rich yet complicated history here.

Pollan emphasized that as clinicians and researchers, many focus on the negative changes that can occur in the brain from development forward in life. However, what are the possible ways to creating positive change? A key theme was the idea that how we change the brain is not likely facilitated by the chemicals we offer the brain, rather it is experience that can change the brain.

Towards the conclusion of the discussion, Pollan mentioned that (stuck) with me - saying that this entire field has been very promising, but with the right investment in resources, education and research, could be profound.

There is so much mental illness that is not diagnosed and not treated the way it can be. The veteran population as we know has significant rates of PTS and depression, with only 50% seeking help.

Two medications with the most evidence and work supporting the use in this kind of experience driven treatment are…psilocybin and MDMA. Currently, Home Base is looking at PTS with MDMA in a new study. In collaboration with the new Center at MGH, we hope to bring more to the table for the veteran population so we can help to target stress, depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions our veterans struggle with.

So how do we deliver that experience, how do we show the evidence or the state of the science, and how do we educate and endorse the public that there are indeed so many people that can be helped in this way?

I was lucky to talk with a team of people leading this effort at MGH: Dr. Jerry Rosenbaum, The Director of the new Center and Psychiatrist-in-Chief Emeritus at MGH, Dr. Franklin King (Education and Training), and Dr. Rick Doblin, a leader in psychedelic research and policy, and founder of MAPS, or Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.

We will take a step back in time to the beginning of this journey in using psychedelics to augment experience, talk about the process of this novel treatment, and highlight the new MGH Center for Neuroscience of Psychedelics that Home Base is collaborating with. At the end of the day, the overarching goal is alleviating the pain of mental illness in both civilian and military populations and combating these complicated diseases.

Thank you for joining us for this special episode on new ways to look at the brain, and treatment of mental health conditions, specifically PTS as it relates to our veterans at Home Base.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Battle Buddies - With Marine, Home Base Psychologist, and CEO of Frost Call, Dr. Wes Sanders

rhirschberg@partners.org (Dr. Ron Hirschberg, Dr. Wes Sanders) — Thu, 4 Mar 2021 04:27:50 +0000

Learn more: Frost Call

-----------

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: "Bats" from Acadia's Second Century Stewardship - Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

How Can Writing Save Your Life? - With Poet Seema Reza, George W. Bush Stand-To Veteran Leadership Scholar

rhirschberg@partners.org (Seema Reza, Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 04:34:37 +0000

Seema Reza is a 2019 President George W. Bush Stand-To Veteran Leadership Scholar. She is the author of two books and CEO of Community Building Art Works, an organization that bridges the veteran and civilian communities and combats social isolation through writing, art, improv, and music workshops in military and veteran healthcare settings.

Through her participation in Stand-To, Seema is working on bringing the programs she developed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital to VA and Military Medical Center staff to reduce burnout, build resiliency, improve communication, and bridge the civilian-military divide.

Based in Maryland, she has led writing workshops within correctional facilities, military and civilian hospitals, elementary and secondary schools, and universities. She is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a unique arts organization that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care and socialization among a military population struggling with emotional and physical injuries. Reza’s work with veterans is featured in the 2018 HBO documentary We Are Not Done Yet. She was awarded the Col John Gioia Patriot Award by the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore for her work with service members. An alumnus of Goddard College and VONA, she has had writing online and in print in McSweeney’s, The LA Review, The Feminist Wire, The Offing, and Entropy among others. Case studies from her work with military populations have appeared in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Related Diseases in Combat Veterans. She has performed across the country at universities, theaters, festivals, bookstores, conferences, & one fine mattress shop.

--Please excuse virtual connection challenges during this recording--

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, with COO Michael Allard and Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: The Butler Frogs

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Home Base 2020: Adapt Or Fall, Respect For All - Featuring Brigadier General (Ret.) Jack Hammond

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 12:14:07 +0000

12-23-20

Dear Home Base Nation,

This second season of our show has come to an end, and so has 2020. Even though the country and world look ahead to a continued difficult situation in 2021, there is always something hopeful about a new year, along with the natural reflection that we all can use now.

Personally, I’ve learned a lot from our guests both military and civilian, especially in that with challenge, comes opportunity to build back and overcome. Resilience is somewhere in all of us and learning to adapt to change and adversity might happen over months to years, or as quickly as days to weeks. Thanks to the HBN team - Brendan McCaffrey, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Karianne Kraus, Moe Roderick, Dan Berg, Natalie Bonelli, and DeeDee Kearney, who join weekly with one goal of bringing new episodes that we are proud of, and hope you continue to enjoy. Season 2 included conversations and stories with amazing people who in their own unique way, continue to serve those who’ve served.

HBN military guests: Army Veteran and Director of the JFK Library in Boston, Alan Price taught us about JFK’s obstacles and support of the Green Berets and Peace Corps. Green Beret Kevin Flike told his own story of resiliency post trauma, while inspiring us to push forward. Airforce Veteran Bonnie Carroll moved us with her stories and new ways to look at life after loss. Army Colonel David King told us about operating in the trauma trenches, at home in his own city, during the Boston Marathon Bombing. Lieutenant General Mike Linnington inspired us to carry our brothers and sisters on our backs both in and out of a pandemic. Navy Veteran Abby Malchow and Marine Veteran Beau Higgins educated us about the transition to work from battlefield to Amazon Warrior. British Navy Veteran and Chef Robert Irvine taught us about balance of selfcare in and out of the kitchen. Marine Veteran Alisa Johnson, Founder of Dogs on Deployment inspired us to follow our passions at all times.

HBN civilian guests: Home Base COO Michael Allard, Drs. Jeannette Ives Erickson and Giles Boland, along with Brigadier General Jack Hammond told the story of the COVD-19 field hospital, Boston Hope that treated more than 700 people during the Spring surge. Dr. Emily Silverman, writer and hospitalist at UCSF gave perspectives on all of our narratives, especially on the frontlines of a COVID unit. Ken Fisher taught us about how a family business built much more than buildings for thousands of military families both in US and abroad. Jake Tapper took us back to The Outpost in Afghanistan to tell the story of not only a battle but about the lives of 9 men who we lost. ICU Nurse Ericka Coutts taught us about a marathon of a pandemic in and of itself. And David “Big Papi” Ortiz showed us how he learned to run the bases again after fighting his own trauma.

To close out 2020, you'll hear Home Base’s Executive Director, Brigadier General Jack Hammond talk about this unprecedented year, while looking ahead at hope, collaboration, and taking care of our own body-mind-and-soul, so that we can best take care of each other. The Home Base team has done the pivot, and will continue to deliver the specialized care for those with TBI and PTS, build the Special Operations programming led by Drs. Ross Zafonte and Alexis Iaccarino / Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, and promote resilience and wellness for not only our veterans, but their military families who all serve.

Thank you all for tuning in, for sharing part of your day with us and for all your support of our veterans and military families. I look forward to seeing you back in 2021 for a new year and new season of HBN, with many more inspirational conversations coming your way.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year,

Ron

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: Darden Smith

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Bias For Action - Featuring Amazon Leaders, US Navy Veteran Abby Malchow and US Marine Veteran Beau Higgins

Tue, 8 Dec 2020 04:12:39 +0000

Home Base is excited to announce the launch of our new Home Base online company store.

Home Base swag for you and yours and All proceeds to benefit the care provided to our Veterans and their families. Show your support by visiting www.store.homebase.org to order your branded apparel and accessories.

Our two special guests are Marine Corps Veteran Colonel Beau Higgins, and Navy Veteran Chief Petty Officer Abby Malchow, who both work at a company I think you’ve probably heard of…. Amazon.

Beau is Senior Manager of Military Talent Acquisition and a Marine Veteran of 25 years. Abby is Senior program manager in Amazon's military affairs, a combat veteran, and a 2018 Bush Stand-to Presidential Leadership Scholar.

"We actively seek leaders who can invent, think big, have a bias for action and deliver results on behalf of our customers. These principles look very familiar to men and women who have served our country in the armed forces, and we find that their experience leading people is invaluable in our fast-paced work environment." - CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos

Both Beau and Abby would agree with Jeff Bezos, with the mantra he preaches: Think big, deliver results and at all times, have a bias for action. These are some of the key 14 leadership principles that have driven the success for Amazon, but they are also the same principles engrained in those that join our military. So it did not surprise me that Abby and Beau have taken on these roles within this giant of a company, just like they did on deployment.

We dedicate this episode to all of the the Amazon Warriors, or the military Amazonians who have served, or continue to serve…

Thank you to our guests today, Colonel Beau Higgins and Chief Petty Officer Abby Malchow for your service and for everything you do for veterans and military families everyday.

Amazon Military Video embedded in this episode with many thanks for Amazon team.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team: Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host: Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music: Darden Smith

Production consultation: Chuck Clough - Above The Basement

Home Base Media Lab Chairman: Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

In Service To Warriors And Their Families - Featuring Lieutenant General (Ret.) Michael Linnington, CEO, Wounded Warrior Project

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 03:59:38 +0000

You can’t see it but behind our guest in his office is a big flag that shows the classic Wounded Warrior Project logo of one service member being carried on the back of another. We have the honor to be talking with LTG Ret. Mike Linnington who served 35 years in the US Army prior to taking on multiple new roles, with new service to his country and all of our veterans and military families.

He served as Director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) as the Military Deputy to the Under Secretary of Defense.

General Linnington has commanded combat operations in both Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF).

And it was actually in 2011 that he called upon our own Brigadier General Jack Hammond, seeing great leadership and operational skill in at that time Colonel Jack Hammond, to bring his plans directly to the top commanding officer - Four star General David Rodriguez, his plan to bring multiple bases together in order to secure Kabul, in Afghanistan.

Almost 10 years later, our own leadership at Home Base with General Hammond along with COO Michael Allard, is able to create the best practice care for veterans and their families with the encouragement and support from WWP.

In the Summer of 2016 General Linnington took on the job as CEO of WWP. At that time he intended to “Squeeze every nickel of every dollar into programs that matter for the warrior.” Those programs were and continue to be focused on Mental health treatment - the invisible wounds, or TBI and PTS.

General Linnington believes that making any impact on this community of military families requires trusted partnerships in care connection, coordination and delivery.

Thank you to LTG Ret. Mike Linnington for your service to this country both overseas and here at home in order to command the best possible care for our veterans and their families.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Music:

Darden Smith - www.Dardensmith.com

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Dogs On Deployment! - Featuring Marine Veteran and CEO of DoD Alisa Johnson

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 18:36:22 +0000

DoD provides military members, veterans and first responders the access to volunteers who board their pets during their deployments and service commitments. The whole family serves, and because pets are such an important part of all of our families, this organization really takes care of not only the pet but that person who is serving our country.

You can learn more about Dogs On Deployment at: www.dogsondeployment.org

And a special thanks to Army Veteran Elizabeth Cordejo for telling us your story, and congratulations to Kali Cordejo, DoD 2020 Military Pet of the Year!

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Unity Of Purpose – Reflections On Boston Hope, A COVID-19 Field Hospital

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 18:47:39 +0000

This episode is dedicated to the 723 people with COVID-19 who came to recover at the Boston Hope Field Hospital during Spring 2020, and to all 1,034 staff who took incredible care of them. With heartfelt appreciation to the Dr. Anne Klibanski, President and CEO of Mass General Brigham (MGB) and the entire MGB leadership team, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Boston’s Mayor Marty Walsh for making it happen. And with much gratitude to our partners and colleagues at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Atrius Health, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Suffolk Construction, the Army Reserve, the Massachusetts National Guard, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, and the Boston Public Health Commission.

The "Hope 4"

Commander - Brigadier General Jack Hammond, Deputy Commander – Michael Allard, and Medical Directors – Drs. Jeanette Ives Erickson and Giles Boland

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Prescribing Your Narrative – Featuring Physician and Creator of The Nocturnists Dr. Emily Silverman

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 18:35:11 +0000

We all have a narrative. This is how we see ourselves and how we want to tell our own story. When we listen to the narratives of our veterans and military families, we can almost feel the honor, pain, pride, sorrow, joy, and inspiration. It can be therapeutic for the storyteller, to dive in and then come up for air feeling relief - that he or she is heard and we are listening. This is the kind of service that our guest, Dr. Emily Silverman and her team at The Nocturnists provide: To shine their light on how valuable storytelling is for the body, mind and soul.

The Nocturnists:

The American healthcare system is making doctors and other healthcare workers sick — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Even before COVID-19, we faced a crisis of burnout, depression, and suicidality. Now the situation is worse.

We founded The Nocturnists in 2016 because we wanted to create a space where healthcare workers could express themselves in their full-fledged humanity. During these challenging times, we continue to serve as a creative outlet for you. We also feel it's important to document this unprecedented moment in medical history.

You are not alone.
Your story matters.
We are listening.

-Emily and The Nocturnists Team

_______________

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Building The Foundation - Featuring CEO of Fisher House Foundation, Ken Fisher

rhirschberg@partners.org (Mr. Ken Fisher, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 20:37:27 +0000

Ken Fisher is a leader in real estate, philanthropy, and giving back to our veterans and military families. He is a man who puts his family first, but who also has helped thousands of military families over the past 30 years. Ken is chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation, which is an organization that has made it possible for the families of ill or injured veterans and service members to have comfortable, communal and free of charge lodging while their their loved one is receiving care at a medical facility. Since 1991, The Foundation has built 90 houses for our US military families - including locations in both Germany and England.

He carries forward the legacy that began when his Great Uncle Zach Fisher and wife Elizabeth Fisher created a groundbreaking system to help with the unmet and growing need for housing for military families. There were two simple requirements that Zach set forth 30 years ago, and Ken and his team continue to honor these requirements today:

1. The house needs to be in walking distance to the hospital, and 2. The housing is free of cost.

All fundraising efforts by the Foundation go to building homes which are “gifted” to the government organization which then in turn operates the home moving forward. This is a public-private marriage that works and has been the model since 1990. Since then, 400,000 military and veteran families have stayed in Fisher Houses, providing more than 10 million nights of free lodging for military families, saving over $500 million in travel expenses.

Ken has expanded the Foundation, further developed the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, and it was in 2016, that Ken along with Prince Harry led the effort to bring the amazing Invictus Games to the US.

Home Base is so grateful for our partnership with Fisher House Foundation and could not be more proud of this relationship, connecting both of our families.

During pandemic times, our veterans still have the same needs every day and we are beyond grateful to Fisher House Foundation for their recent support specifically for the travel costs for our service members and veterans from across the country.

Ken and the Foundation truly represent what Home Base has always been so impressed by: A Grateful Nation of supporters that serve those serve.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, and The Moxi Group - DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Music for this episode by:

Darden Smith - www.dardensmith.com

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Recipes for success from the kitchen to the Pentagon - Featuring British Navy Veteran Chef Robert Irvine

Mon, 5 Oct 2020 04:15:31 +0000

We would like to thank the great folks at Stop and Shop for all you do for our communities especially during these unprecedented times. This past Spring, Home Base and Mass General Brigham leadership teamed up with the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to stand up Boston Hope, a COVID-19 Field Hospital. Stop and Shop showed their service to the hospital by bringing food and supplies to Boston Hope’s patients and staff.

Make sure to check out Stop and Shop's 6 week family cooking series At The Table with Robert Irvine !

To learn more about Chef Irvine, The Robert Irvine Foundation, and the new documentary Hell Or High Seas about hope and healing around post-traumatic stress - Go to chefirvine.com.

To learn more and connect with us at Home Base:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, and The Moxi Group - DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Running For Strength And Service - Featuring ICU Nurse Ericka Coutts

rhirschberg@partners.org (Ron Hirschberg, Ericka Coutts) — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 03:44:42 +0000

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, and The Moxi Group - DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Telling Their Stories - Featuring CNN Anchor and Author Jake Tapper

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 04:10:00 +0000

Recorded on September 11th, 2020

This episode is dedicated to the following 9 soldiers and their families:

Justin T. Gallegos, Christopher Griffin, Kevin C. Thomson, Michael P. Scusa, Vernon W. Martin, Stephan L. Mace, Joshua J. Kirk, and Joshua M. Hardt, who died in the Battle of Kamdesh, in Eastern Afghanistan on Oct 3rd, 2009, and Ed Faulkner who died the following year after returning home.

Many thanks to Jake Tapper for all you do for our servicemen and women and their families.

Special thanks to Anna Beth Jager, Ella Richardson and the CNN team for your collaboration and support, and to Chuck Clough and Mike Shimshack for audio expertise and consultation.

"Everybody Cries" is performed by Rita Wilson, and cowritten by Rod Lurie, Larry Groupe, and Rita Wilson

Watch the 2020 movie The Outpost trailer here, directed by Rod Lurie, and starring Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, and Orlando Bloom.

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, and The Moxi Group - DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Home Base Nation is the official podcast of Home Base Program for Veterans and Military Families, a partnership of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation.

Love Lives On - Featuring Air Force Veteran and TAPS Founder Bonnie Carroll

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Sat, 12 Sep 2020 02:53:49 +0000

On September 7th 2020 we acknowledge National Suicide Prevention Week, which happens to include the September 11th anniversary. 9/11/2001 was a life changing day for the world, and also a day that many of our servicemembers look back on as the impetus for their own dedication to service.

As the number of individuals who die by suicide increases, so too do the number of survivors impacted by the loss. Home Base recognizes and honors the sacrifice of Families of the Fallen, to include those whose family member died in service to our country and to those who lost a loved one by suicide.

In 2017, Home Base collaborated with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) to establish a first-in-the nation two-week Intensive Clinical Program (ICP) for survivors of traumatic loss. The program provides 63 hours of treatment – the equivalent of more than one year’s worth of therapy – for post-traumatic stress and complicated grief, putting our Families of the Fallen on a path of healing and hope.

We would like to say a special thank you to Raytheon Technologies, who just stepped forward with significant support for the Families of the Fallen ICP. Raytheon Technologies is leading the way, and we are deeply grateful as we would not be able to fully provide this care without the generosity of partners like Raytheon Technologies.

And if you would like to join in this effort at Home Base to provide this expert care for our military families, please go to click here, where you can also make a donation in someone’s honor or memory.

To learn more about TAPS:

www.taps.org

For 24/7 TAPS Assistance:

(800)-959-TAPS

______________________________________________

Big Miracle: the 2012 movie based on the 1988 collaborative National Guard whale rescue mission in Barrow, Alaska

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter,Facebook,Instagram,LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, Marine Veteran Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Dan Berg, and The Moxi Group - DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Ron Hirschberg

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Wounded But Not Broken - Featuring Green Beret Kevin Flike

rhirschberg@partners.org (Staff Sergeant Kevin Flike, Dr. Ron Hirschberg) — Tue, 1 Sep 2020 03:57:57 +0000

This episode follows our conversation with Staff Sgt. Kevin Flike, a Green Beret, and Alan Price, an Army Veteran and the current JFK Library and Museum Director, released on 8-24-20.

Staff Sergeant Kevin Flike is a true role model for so many in any culture, and for both service members and civilians. He continues to educate us through public speaking, his work with the Green Beret Foundation, and through academic leadership that began at the Sloan school at MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Make sure to check out Kevin’s 2019 documentary Wounded by War for an incredible view of his story of injury and resilience.

The US Army Special Forces is the special operations force established in 1952. Throughout the 1950s the Green Beret was worn as an unofficial part of the SF uniform, until 1961 when President JFK authorized the GB as the official head gear. JFK called the green beret "a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom."

Many thanks to the JFK Presidential Library and Museum for hosting the Home Base team for this conversation, Leslie Feinberg our government relations director, and Army Veteran Pat Smith, Home Base’s Special Operation’s liaison.

Thank you Staff Sergeant Flike for your service both before and after 2011, and thank you to Kimberlee Flike and your family for their service over these trying years.

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, US Marine Corps Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Chuck Clough, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Ron Hirschberg

Thank you to:

Photography - Joe Wallace for photography

On location recording - Chuck Clough of Above The Basement

Introduction scene and "Taliban Fight" score - David G. Moore

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Winning Hearts and Minds - Featuring Green Beret Kevin Flike and JFK Presidential Library and Museum Director Alan Price

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 03:03:38 +0000

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, US Marine Corps Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Chuck Clough, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Ron Hirschberg

Special thanks to Joe Wallace for photography, and to Chuck Clough at Above The Basement

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

2020 Virtual Run To Home Base - September 26th

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Sun, 16 Aug 2020 01:13:29 +0000

Dear Home Base Nation Listeners,

The Run to Home Base is our most critical, annual fundraiser and our primary source of funding for the clinical care and support for our veterans and their families who are impacted by the invisible wounds of war - Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury. Join Home Base Nation on September 26th, 2020 our annual, adaptive and memorable 9K Run or 5K Run/Walk.

2020 has been extremely tough financially on many people and organizations, including Home Base. As such, we need your help now more than ever. Your support this year will help ensure we can continue our Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) programs, to include our Special Operations Community. Thanks to our generous sponsors this year, 100% of every dollar raised will go directly towards the life-saving care provided by Home Base.

As you all know, the turbulence associated with the coronavirus pandemic has affected each of our lives profoundly. Schools, colleges, and many employers are looking at remote operations going into and beyond the Fall, and there will be no fans in attendance at Fenway Park for the foreseeable future. Based upon guidance from th City of Boston, race directors and Major League Baseball - with your safety in mind - we will conduct our 2020 Run to Home Base as a virtual race on Saturday, September 26th. You can run, jog or walk on the road, on a trail, on the treadmill, at the gym or on a track. You get to do your own race, at your own pace.

Tell us Why you Run / Walk and Where you Run / Walk by using #RTHB2020

Reduced Fundraising Minimums

We also recognize that many of you may have been impacted by this insidious virus financially, and while we must continue to raise critical funds to support our wounded and injured Veterans and Military Families, we are reducing the minimum fundraising minimums (due by 9/6/20) for all participants to the following:

Civilian adults (ages 14+) will be asked to raise $200
Military participants (Veterans, Active Duty, Guard, Reserves) will be asked to raise $100
Children (ages 6-13) will be asked to raise $25

Home Base is currently looking at a significant budget shortfall. We normally raise $2.5M through this event but, this year, we have lowered that expectation to $1M. The funds raised from this year’s Run to Home Base supports our Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program and the 2-week Intensive Clinical Program (ICP) for our Families of the Fallen. Neither program will be funded past October 1st if we are not successful in meeting or exceeding our financial goal of $1M.

New FundraisingIncentives

For those who raise above and beyond our new fundraising minimums, we are very excited to announce NEW fundraising incentives like a picture of your name on the Jumbotron, a chance to win Green Monster seats for 2021, on-field workouts with the Red Sox Strength & Conditioning Coach, pictures with the World Series Trophies, and an opportunity to join us at Fenway for a celebration once restrictions are lifted.

Televised Opening Ceremony

This year’s Opening Ceremony will air on NESN television on Saturday, September 26th and we will work with you to stream individual and team photos and video. NESN will also air a pre-game Run to Home Base television special, prior to Red Sox vs. Braves game that evening. Additional details to follow and we know, with your support, this will be a great event!

While we are sad that we won’t all be getting together at Fenway this year, we encourage you to register and join us on September 26th.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your continued support, patience and understanding.

Thank you!

- Your friends at Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation, and Home Base Nation!

Special thanks to Dan Berg, Maureen Roderick and Steve Monaco

Healing The Patient, And A City - Featuring US Army Colonel David King and David "Big Papi" Ortiz

rhirschberg@partners.org (David King, Ron Hirschberg, David Ortiz) — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 06:06:50 +0000

Visit The David Ortiz Children's Fund at: https://davidortizchildrensfund.org/

Cheers and Thank You To The Amazing Trauma ICU at The Massachusetts General Hospital - With kudos to Karen Waak, DPT and all nursing, rehabilitation and other staff for making healing of the body, mind and spirit possible!

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Team:

Steve Monaco, US Marine Corps Brendan McCaffrey, Maureen Roderick, Charlotte Luckey, Karianne Kraus, Chuck Clough, DeeDee Kearney, Natalie Bonelli

Producer and Host:

Ron Hirschberg

Special thanks to Joe Wallace for photography, and to Chuck Clough at Above The Basement

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Season 2 Trailer

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Thu, 6 Aug 2020 03:19:15 +0000

Season 2 features special guests Army Colonel and Massachusetts General Hospital Trauma Surgeon, David King, Red Sox Legend David "Big Papi" Ortiz, Airforce Veteran and TAPS Founder Bonnie Carroll, Green Beret Kevin Flike, Host of The Nocturnist podcast and physician Emily Silverman, Poet and George W. Bush Institute Veteran Scholar Seema Reza, and more very special guests to come.

Introduction music: James House

Closing theme music: Darden Smith

COVID-19 Series (2): Slow Is Smooth, Smooth Is Fast. Patients First. Always - Featuring Colonel David King, Trauma Surgeon

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 17:51:26 +0000

This conversation was recorded on March 29th, 2020

MGH EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND:

The Emergency Response Fund was established to support Massachusetts General Hospital’s immediate response to devastating events like the fast-moving global spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Mass General’s Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) team, which has been active since late January, is continuing to monitor the disease spread and the changing guidelines while directing the hospital’s ongoing response to this evolving global health crisis.

Our emergency preparedness measures are comprehensive. Fail-safe and rigorously-tested procedures are in place to deal with cases as they arise. The combination of deep subject matter expertise and strong management systems ensures that our patients and the community are receiving the best possible care from our clinicians during this volatile public health situation

OPERATION HEALTH AT HOME:

The entire Home Base staff has launched a new virtual resource program - Operation Health At Home - which will feature our experts on the topics of nutrition, fitness, mindfulness and mental health. Fresh curated content will be released daily on this site and through Home Base social channels. During these extraordinary times, it is important that we all work together to support each other and at Home Base, we take this responsibility to heart.

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Host- Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Communications team - Cassandra Falone, Steve Monaco

Veteran Advisory Board - Warrant Officer One Armand Hunter, Sergeant Major Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Introduction music

Blessings (Instrumental) and Love Will Win The War - By Darden Smith

COVID-19 Series (1): Lessons From Our Military And How We Can Help Ourselves And Each Other - Featuring Brigadier General Jack Hammond

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 21:12:35 +0000

OPERATION HEALTH AT HOME:

MGH EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND:

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Host- Dr. Ron Hirschberg

Communications team - Cassandra Falone, Steve Monaco

Veteran Advisory Board - Warrant Officer One Armand Hunter, Sergeant Major Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Warrior-Healer: Inside A Song By Air Force Veteran Blair Morin and James House

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 22:16:17 +0000

Warrior-Healer

Blair Morin and James House

11 September 2018

I remember seeing a lot of good in people

Back when I was a younger man

But I went to war looked into the face of evil

Change forever who I am

I did my duty, I was unapologetic

Swore I’d be there when a brother in need

That's whet you do when you’re a warrior medic

Give comfort and aid no matter what you believe

But somewhere between then and now

I lost myself

Oh oh oh healer - oh oh oh warrior

My wife asks me why am I so angry

My kids ask me why am I so scared

They see it but I don’t burden them

Cause I’m still fighting that war over there

But somewhere between then and now

I got lost myself

Oh oh oh healer - oh oh oh warrior

I haven’t given up on my brothers

They haven’t given up on me

Looking back pushes me forward

Fighting to feel the hope that I thought I’d never see

Oh oh oh healer - oh oh oh warrior

Thank you to Blair and Sarah Morin for your service, sacrificies and your passion to help others with your story.

Many thanks to Mr. James House for your service through songwriting, and our friends at SongwritingWith:Soldiers.

Thanks to Joe Wallace for photography, and to Chuck Clough at Above The Basement for your support and technical assistance.

If you are interested in a great podcast that examines and dissects the songs we all know and love and how they came to be, check out Song Exploder!

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Cassandra Falone, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Warrant Officer One Armand Hunter, Sergeant Major Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

LIVE at the JFK Library and Museum - A Conversation with Marine Veteran Shaggy

Mon, 3 Feb 2020 02:48:45 +0000

Seven-time nominated and two-time GRAMMY winner Shaggy was born Orville Richard Burrell in Jamaica, and after moving to New York at 18, he would soon enlist in the Marines. Two years into service he deployed with the 10th Marine Regiment to the Persian Gulf, and he looks back at that time as one of the building blocks of discipline that helped launch him into superstardom into the world of Dancehall and Reggae music.

For Shaggy, music has been a vehicle to bring different kinds of people to the same experience. But after meeting him, it’s not just the music that does this, it’s the spirit and grit that undoubtably were shaped by Marine discipline and deployment.

Many thanks to Shaggy for joining the Home Base Nation line-up, for your service as a US Marine and for what you bring to unity through music. Special thanks to Tracy Bufferd at team Shaggy and Sting for all your collaboration and support.

To get to know Shaggy more, see what he is up to for 2020, and to check out the New solo album Wah Gwaan, visit www.shaggyonline.com

Music:

Boombastic (Shaggy, Livingston, Floyd)
Soldier's Story (Shaggy, Pizzonia, Roston, Truhn, Ducent)

Many thanks to the staff at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston, MA

Photography - Joe Wallace

Introduction music - Darden Smith

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Cassandra Falone, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Warrant Officer One Armand Hunter, Sergeant Major Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

More Than Just Headaches: 7 Truths Behind Military Traumatic Brain Injury

Tue, 28 Jan 2020 23:06:24 +0000

What is a Military Traumatic Brain Injury?

A TBI is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Regardless of severity, brain injuries cause symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, weakened physical abilities, and impaired ability to concentrate. In addition, a brain injury may negatively affect memory, sleep, senses, and emotions, and may impede language and communication abilities.

The Military Culture Shift is Just Beginning

“When we first went into Afghanistan and Iraq back in 2002 and 2003, post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries really weren’t anything that came up on our screens,” explains Hammond, who has commanded troops at the Platoon, Troop, Battalion and Brigade level both at home and abroad, including Afghanistan in 2002, Iraq in 2003, and Afghanistan 2011-2012 “We had a number of soldiers in Fallujah that received blast injuries from rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), roadside bombs, mortars, rockets, and hand-grenades. If you were able to walk away, we high-fived. It was ingrained in all of us…you continue to march, you continue to fight. We played hurt.”

That mentality of “playing hurt” shifted by the time Hammond deployed to Afghanistan again in 2010. Diagnostic and treatment protocols were established – in part – thanks to Dr. Zafonte who spent time in the region and studied the longitudinal effects of TBI. Under the guidance of Dr. Zafonte, Home Base and Spaulding’s pioneering research is already accelerating knowledge that translates into better clinical care for Veterans, Service Members and Special Operations Forces.

We’ve Only Recently Begun to Understand the Full Impact Of TBI

Like professional sports teams, the military is beginning to understand that a TBI is more serious than a bump on the head that requires a couple of aspirin and back into action. “There are systems in place now that did not exist a decade ago,” says Michael Allard. “What we have today is a much better system of care, not only within the military – but organizations – like Home Base – are working with our DOD and our VA counterparts to develop novel models of interventions.”

Stigma Can Deter Treatment, But Early Intervention Is Necessary

“I’ve had a soldier with a brain injury based on a roadside bomb that lost a quarter of his head, and he returned to duty because of that drive to get back and continue to serve. Stigma to connecting to care is real, and anything that deters people from coming to get the help they need over something as silly as a stigma is painful for us to see,” says Hammond. “We want to make sure that people understand these are legitimate and serious wounds.

“Some of the wonderful innovation and success stories we’ve had here at Home Base are because of the deep resources that we’re able to access here at Home Base between Spaulding Rehab and the Mass General Hospital,” says Hammond. “I know many Veterans who wish they could have gotten care sooner. But they don’t really look in the rear view mirror a lot. They’re happy for the guys to get the treatment now and they would be advocates for the young men and women that are coming up to make sure they get the help as soon as possible.”

Family Members are Essential to Healing and Recovery

The belief that family members play a significant role in the recovery of traumatic brain injuries lies at the heart of the foundation at Home Base. “This is a team effort and it starts with the family and it starts with approaches that that family member can really readily understand it and then know where to go,” says Allard. “When you can begin to educate those family members, they begin to understand that there are resources out there that will take them in and coach them through it to get their loved one into care. Now you’re making progress and you can put it into the hands of the clinicians who do have a handle on where we should go with the actual care.”

Private-Public Partnerships are Essential in Meeting the Growing Demand

“Home Base has been a unique starter of a flame that was necessary to really look at private-public partnerships and how we can serve as a complementary resource for people who need access to care, access through their families,” adds Zafonte, “Access for people who have difficult symptom complexes chronically, access for people who have unusual parts of that diagnosis. Not to be exclusive of the VA, but to collaborate with the VA for a single purpose, getting the Veteran well – that is what Home Base is here to do.”

Access to Care is Key – Home Base Answers the Call

As a National Center of Excellence, Home Base provides a holistic and innovative approach to clinical care for Veterans, Service Members and their Families. Through a long-standing partnership with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, this unique partnership allows Home Base to utilize today’s most cutting-edge technology and treatment for TBI. “We’ve invested and have extraordinary resources from a brain injury treatment and research perspective,” notes Zafonte, when asked about the integration between Spaulding and Home Base. Spaulding has been the TBI model center of the country and the neurology, neurosurgery and orthopedics programs at Home Base, which include specialists who treat traumatic brain injury, are consistently ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

“Veterans deserve to have their injuries taken more significantly and when we think about it, it’s critical for us to appreciate that there could be some longer-term effects. Most people who are treated well early on will get better.”

Connect to Care

If you suspect that you or a loved one has suffered a concussion or traumatic brain injury, it’s important that they receive proper care as soon as possible following injury as this can have significant impact on their recovery. To learn more about clinical and support programs at Home Base for TBI, contact Home Base at (617) 724-5202 or visit www.homebase.org/connect2care.

Above article by Cassandra Falone, Director of Communications, Home Base Program for Veterans and Families

Dancehall and Deployments - Featuring Marine Veteran Shaggy

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:15:58 +0000

That Love is a 2016 infectious song written and performed by our featured guest today, GRAMMY winner and Marine Veteran, Shaggy. It’s worth visiting the music video for this song, that paints a picture of our armed forces missing their loved ones while overseas. It does the job in giving the nod to all of our servicemen and women who keep love and connection alive… while fighting for our country.

Shaggy was born Orville Richard Burrell in Jamaica, and after moving to New York at 18, he would soon enlist in the Marines. Two years into service he deployed with the 10th Marine Regiment to the Persian Gulf, and he looks back at that time as one of the building blocks of discipline that helped launch him into superstardom into the world of Dancehall and Reggae music.

Shaggy is a 7-time nominated and 2-time GRAMMY winner including his 2019 album 44/876 with Sting. In studio and on tour, Sting and Shaggy became bonded brothers, immigrants of different forms not unlike military mates. Except their mission is unity through song that we all experience just by listening or visiting them at their “office,“ on stage together.

For Shaggy, music has been a vehicle to bring different kinds of people to the same experience. But after meeting him, it’s not just the music that does this, its his spirit and grit that undoubtably were shaped by a Marine background.

Semper Fi … or in English, “Always Loyal,” sums up a true motto for our guest as a Marine who served overseas and as a faithful artist who continues to serve all of his fans across the globe.

To get to know Shaggy a little more, check out the New 2019 album Wah Gwaan, and you can find him at www.shaggyonline.com

Thank you Shaggy for joining the Home Base Nation crew, for your service as a US Marine and for what you bring to unity through music.

Episode songs

That Love (Shaggy)
Soldier's Story (Shaggy, Pizzonia, Roston, Truhn, Ducent)
Dreaming in the U.S.A. (Sting, Shaggy)

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE STORY

WCVB BOSTON STORY - VETERANS DAY DINNER AT THE JFK LIBRARY

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Cassandra Falone, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Warrant Officer One Armand Hunter, Sergeant Major Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Thank you Joe Wallace for your never ending photographic-eye for our guests, Chuck Clough at Above The Basement Podcast for on-location sound and support,.and Aaron Dowd at Simplecast for your support.

Recalibration - Featuring Retired Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Tue, 7 Jan 2020 02:50:37 +0000

Retired Army SSG Travis Mills is simply a leader. On the football or baseball field in his home town of Vassar, Michigan, on patrol with his squad in Afghanistan, or on the floors of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Travis is “that guy” no matter the situation. He’ll pull you up and show you what is possible, while at the same time will tell you the road is not without bumps and turns. He’s that guy who’ll make you laugh, and will also teach you to take yourself a little less seriously. And his “Never give up - Never quit” mantra isn’t just something he came up with after an IED took away his four limbs while on his combat mission overseas, it seems to have followed him around his whole life.

That day was April 10, 2012, on deployment for his third tour in Afghanistan when he was critically injured upon placing his back pack on the ground, triggering the blast. The Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient would become one of only five surviving quadruple amputees to date during the post-9/11 conflcts.

After reading his New York Times Bestseller Tough As They Come, and watching the award winning documentary Travis – A Soldier’s Story,you won’t give up and you won’t quit whatever you are doing or struggling with. Travis has a magnetism about him, and has recruited a staff for a thriving foundation that has become more like a family than an organization. The Travis Mills Foundation hosts all-inclusive and all-expenses paid veteran family retreats in Maine for servicemembers who have sustained injury on or off the battlefield. This is the place to bond with brothers, sisters and families, do some yoga, take out an adaptive kayak, navigate the ropes course, fish, cook, cross-country ski, cycle and hike. Visit up Maine in person or surf the Foundation’s site and you’ll see it is no surprise it’s been made possible through the leadership of SSG Mills, and the hard work and support from his wife Kelsey and family.

Glossary of terms and acronyms:

82nd Airborne Division - Airborne infantry division of the United States Army, specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areas with a U.S. Department of Defense requirement to "respond to crisis contingencies anywhere in the world within 18 hours.

E6 - U.S. Army Staff Sergeant: just above sergeant and below sergeant first class, and is a non-commissioned officer*. Staff sergeants are generally placed in charge of squads, but can also act as platoon sergeants in the absence of a sergeant first class.

*NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer

PSD - A protective team assigned to protect the security of an individual or group. PSD's are typically made up of military personnel, private security contractors, or law enforcement agents.

Pop smoke – this is a military term that, which means to leave or retract from an area quickly.

240 - The nickname for a medium machine gun- either an M240B or M240L depending on the configuration.

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Cassandra Falone, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Armand Hunter, Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Thank you Joe Wallace for photography on location, and Aaron Dowd at Simplecast for your support.

Bookend theme music from colleague and founder of Songwriting with: Soldiers, Darden Smith, with contributions from the David Shaw's Documentary Second Century Stewardship soundtrack co-written by Kevin Oates and Ron Hirschberg, finishing Warrior, but James House and Air Force Veteran Blair Morin

The views expressed by guests to the Home Base Nation podcast

are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by guests are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Home Base, the Red Sox Foundation or any of its officials.

Diner Debrief - Companion Episode to: From Injury to Inspiration

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 03:58:51 +0000

After you listen to a new podcast or episode, do you look forward to discussing it with someone? Different people will reflect on, or remember different comments or concepts. And I imagine these conversations happening at a local diner. I can also see civilians and military folks having a cup of coffee across from one other at a booth, not talking to each, but with each other. And you never know when friend of Home Base Darden Smith’s song Love Will Win the War will come on the jukebox…. So, for this Bonus/companion episode to: From Injury to Inspiration - Featuring Lee and Bob Woodruff, pull up a chair with us for a… Diner Debrief.

- Dr. Ron Hirschberg / Host, Home Base Nation

Photography - Joe Wallace

Connect - Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

From Injury to Inspiration - Featuring Lee and Bob Woodruff

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 05:38:10 +0000

Giving back to servicemembers and families comes in many ways, and for Lee and Bob Woodruff the opportunity surfaced in early 2006. Just weeks after his new job as co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight, Bob was critically injured by a roadside bomb outside of Taji, Iraq.

The blast caused severe traumatic brain injury with need for craniectomy (emergent removal of the left side of his skull), and weeks in the intensive care unit. After 36 days in coma he awoke - and the re-learning process began – To move, speak and reintegrate back to life with his wife Lee and their four kids.

An author, media consultant and mother of four, Lee began writing. Her therapeutic journaling would transform into the NY Times Bestseller, In an Instant, which she coauthored with Bob to tell the story of resilience and reentry from the caregiver and the patient perspective.

While Bob emerged from the ICU to rehabilitation, Lee and Bob’s brothers immediately saw the need for helping not only the wounded servicemember, but the entire family – And thus the Bob Woodruff Foundation was born.

To date, their Foundation has raised and invested over $70M through more than 400 grants, serving more than 2.5 million servicemembers and families. This year marked the 13th year of Stand Up For Heroes, the annual comedy and entertainment event held at Madison Square Garden.

It’s been 10 years since Home Base was born, and it is fitting to sit with the Woodruffs on this milestone year, and it makes even more sense that Bob threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park that year (which you’ll hear was apparently a strike), and the start of a meaningful collaboration for years to come.

Over this period of time, Bob has continued to report and educate all of us from all over the world.Along with four Emmy's for his work in overseas conflict and cultural coverage, Bob has recieved both the Alfred I. duPont Award and the George Foster Peabody Award, the two highest honors in broadcast journalism. Lee has been a contributor for Good Morning America and CBS This Morning, and contiues to inspire, educate and entertain with her best selling work.

We would like to thank the Woodruffs for their hospitality and warm welcome to the Home Base Nation team.

To learn more and connect with us:

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Home Base Nation Production Team:

Cassandra Falone, Charlotte Luckey, Steve Monaco, Armand Hunter, Bill Davidson

Home Base Media Lab Chairman:

Peter Smyth

Special thanks to Chuck Clough of Above The Basement for Engineering and assistance, and Joe Wallace for photography on location, and Aaron Dowd at Simplecast for your support.

Music selections Love Will Win The War, Home, from colleague and founder of Songwriting with: Soldiers, Darden Smith

Finding Purpose...Again - Featuring Marine Veteran Kirstie Ennis

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Mon, 9 Dec 2019 05:45:59 +0000

Whether we find role models at home, in our schools, hospitals or on the big screen, they have a lasting effect on us all. SGT Kirstie Ennis inspires everyone in her path, ever since finding her own inspiration to help others who can’t help themselves. This dates back to her enlistment in the Marine Corps at age 17, growing up with not one, but two Marine parents.

During her second deployment to Afghanistan in June 2012, Kirstie sustained polytraumatic injuries from a helicopter crash including traumatic brain injury, facial and spine injuries, and leg trauma that eventually left her with an amputation above the knee.

After being hurt overseas, Kirstie went on to become a Paralympian snowboarder, a proud contestant at Prince Harry’s 2016 Invictus Games, and a member of a Veteran team on a 1000 mile trek across Great Britain with the organization Walking With The Wounded.

She continues to push herself every day while giving back to others through mountaineering and world travel. Since 2016, Kirstie set out to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peaks on every continent), having climbed Four of Seven so far. In May 2019 she was just 650 feet from the top of Mount Everest and had to turn back because her team was running out of oxygen, but without any surprise, she plans to return in 2021.

Upon taking the stage accepting the 2019 Pat Tilman Award for Service at the ESPYs, Kirstie said… “I am one of the lucky ones who came home. Broken, but I am still here and I still can. So I will continue every day for those who can’t....Let this be my message tonight: Rest a moment less, endure a fraction more and try to make peace with whatever your pain may be.”

Thank you Sgt Kirstie Ennis for your inspiration, and HBN wishes you the best as you complete the final three of the Seven Summits...For more information go to The Kirstie Ennis Foundation.

We would like to thank our two rehabilitation guests on this episode, Ms Anne Packard and Mr. Ben Cole, and best of luck with your next chapters at home. Thank you Dr. David Crandell at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for your care and constant advocacy for not only your patients, but your ongoing support of adaptive sports.

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn

Whose Freedom Are We Fighting For? - Featuring Spike Lee

rhirschberg@partners.org (Stefanie Ryan, Leonard Montgomery, Michael Allard) — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 05:00:21 +0000

Our high school history books highlight patriots like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams during the time of the American Revolution. However, a foundation was being built just before this time through the actions of a small group in Boston on March 5th, 1770. The evening’s events were later known as the Boston Massacre, and we remember eleven people shot, including the death of five men who led a call to freedom from British control. One of these men was a former slave named Crispus Attucks, who was not only the first to take a bullet, he would be the first in our country to die for the American Revolution.

African Americans have served our country from its inception, and in all wars. As segregation had lifted during the time of the Vietnam War, progress was made. Yet to this day the brotherhood of soldiers in general shows more of a color-blind culture than the country itself.

Following our conversation, join us for a Diner Debrief, a time to meet at the local diner or coffee shop and chat. We are joined by Marine Veteran Leonard Montgomery who shares a perspective on personal experience as an African American both in and out of times of service. We would like to hear from you as well, so please contact us at www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Thank you for listening, and a very happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Home Base.

-HBN

Home Base Nation is a production of the Home Base Media Lab in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.

Special thanks to James House https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_House_(singer) for acoustic start of our Thanksgiving message from song “Warrior, Healer”

Introduction HBN theme music by Darden Smith, founder of Songwriting With: Soldiers

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

The Anthropology of Service - Featuring Sebastian Junger

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 02:31:35 +0000

As our military brothers and sisters make the transition home to a nation that may genuinely support them, one’s sense of purpose is not always easy to find. As a country, we see that depression, post-traumatic stress or anxiety challenge many service members. At the same time, we see that barriers to thriving at home are not necessarily due to mental illness, rather to transitioning back to daily life. The irony is common: Community and connection can be found overseas within a unique culture of bonds, yet at times so hard to accomplish right in our own back yards.

To dial in and learn more on service and the human connection, we sat with acclaimed author and director Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm, War, A Death In Belmont). As a combat journalist and work at ABC News and Vanity Fair, Sebastian is a non-military anthropologist who has much to teach us through personal and extensive engagements with our service members overseas. If there is one book you should read before or after listening to this episode, it is Sebastian's Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, and while you are at it, see the documentary Restrepo.

We enjoyed our visit and conversation with Sebastian at his home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Greeted by Daisy, the docile Junger dog, we climbed to the second floor of an A-frame annex, with books dating back centuries lining the wall. Sebastian is genuine and easy going, and it was a true pleasure to talk with him, and take some notes...

Following the conversation, join us for our first Diner Debrief, a time to meet at the local diner or coffee shop and chat. We are joined by Army Warrant Officer 1, Armand K. Hunter who gives a personal perspective on our discussion, as we reflect on community, brotherhood, and coming home from war. We would like to hear from you too. Email us at Home Base Nation.

Thank you for listening,

HBN

Home Base Nation is a production of the Home Base Media Lab in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.

Introduction music by Darden Smith, founder of Songwriting With: Soldiers

Photography - Joe Wallace
Engineering and editing - Chuck Clough @Above The Basement

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

Season 1 Trailer

rhirschberg@partners.org (Home Base Program for Veterans and Families) — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 21:27:21 +0000

Season 1 features conversations with award winning author / combat journalist Sebastian Junger, Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee, ABC News journalist Bob Woodruff and acclaimed author Lee Woodruff, U.S. Army Afghanistan Veteran / author / quadruple amputee Travis Mills, U.S. Marine Afghanistan Veteran / Paralympian Kirstie Ennis, U.S. Marine Veteran / GRAMMY-Award Winning Reggae Artist Shaggy, and Air Force Veteran and Medic Blair Morin with Songwriting With: Soldiers.

www.homebase.org/homebasenation

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn