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. 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.

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.

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 our friend and previous guest on the Home Base Nation Podcast, Mary Gauthier.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Welcome back to Home Base Nation!

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. Welcome back to Home Base Nation!

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.

A "Match" for Life - Two Families, Two Dads, Two Sons - And One US/UK Mission at the Liverpool Football Club Commemorating Memorial Day 2025: Home Base COO Mike Allard, who is Home Base Nation's UK Correspondent, sits down with two dads (Brad Allen and Dustin Snyder) who lost their sons who have served in the military to suicide. They talk about the bonds that bring us together in unimaginable times, and the veteran and sports community that comes together to rally support and wrap their arms around them and their families.

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. 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.