Home Base Nation

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...

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 ...

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 Russ...

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 ...

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,...

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 fro...

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 t...

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 anywh...

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-co...

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 t...

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 an...

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 ju...

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 “d...

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 ...

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 fro...

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...

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 ...

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 v...

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 wh...