Author: By Jason T. Strickland Special to the Gazette
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Behind Friendly Lines: Former sub mechanic grateful for ‘miracles on the mountainside’
His tenure of military service may have been brief, but his status as a disabled veteran will last the rest of his life. Jeremy Trammell Jr., affectionately known as “JJ” by his family — and as “Wheels” by the staff at The Original Pancake House in Cincinnati where he and his family eat every Sunday after…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Housing resources some veterans don’t know about
In winter 2022, Nathan Hansley and his girlfriend were evicted from their Denver apartment. That night, they slept outside in single-digit temperatures near the state Capitol, commencing a four-year journey of homelessness for the U.S. Army veteran. “I’ve never been homeless before … I didn’t know what to do. I just broke down,” Hansley said.…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Support available with VA for veteran caregivers
Ron Anderson quit his job to become a caregiver for his father, Lee, a World War II veteran. He candidly shared that, after his mother, Lee’s wife, died, he had a very challenging, yet extremely rewarding, experience caring for his dad. His parents had been married for 65 years, but then Lee found himself alone…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Healthcare access expands while others contract
On a muggy November evening in 1994, I sat crouched in the back of my HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), which served as the Charlie Battery (3-62 ADA / 10th Mountain Division) Tactical Operations Center, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and dialed an operator on a Digital Non-Secure Voice Terminal (a fancy name for an Army…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Greathouse just another part of ‘Miracles on a Mountainside’
While deployed with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in 2001, Corporal Adam Greathouse contracted a bacterial infection in his lungs. He went into acute respiratory distress and suffered a traumatic brain injury due to a lack of oxygen. He had an enlarged heart, his organs had…
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My HealtheVet: 20 years of empowering veterans | Behind Friendly Lines
As far as online patient portals go, My HealtheVet is quite the pioneer. Launched on Veterans Day in 2003, the platform celebrated its 20th anniversary this past weekend. With more than 4.7 million active users, My HealtheVet enjoys a 75% user-satisfaction rate. Supporting patients through access My HealtheVet allows veterans to access their VA health…
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Behind Friendly Lines: How to prepare for your Memorial Day
Billy Earl Thornburg was laid to rest at Pikes Peak National Cemetery on Aug. 22. Billy’s daughter, T.J., grieved the loss of this monumental figure in her life. But the experience could have been much more challenging — and more expensive. T.J. didn’t have her father’s DD-214, and she wasn’t sure of the process to…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Twelve valuable resources for Vets worth celebrating
Most of us know the song: “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…” It’s a celebratory song about the birth of Jesus and describes the time from Christ’s birth to the arrival of the Maggi. This Christmas season, allow me a little creative license to make a slight modification and…
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Behind Friendly Lines: Access, and transparency, for veterans
You spoke. We listened. This past month, the VA launched an improved Access to Care website, www.accesstocare.va.gov, which reflects the very concerns veterans voiced about what they wanted to see regarding access to their VA health care. Veterans now have a more user-friendly, streamlined information tool to make it easier to plan their VA health…