Home Base Nation

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.”...

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 Chie...

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 care...

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 Bas...

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...

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....

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 wee...

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 m...

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...

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, tr...

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 mindf...

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 kid...

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 Alum...

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...

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 Commun...

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 epis...

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 v...

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...

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...

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 re...

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 disc...

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 ab...

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....

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 inspi...

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...