2021 Run to Home Base: ‘One team, one fight’

Ricardo Figueroa knows how hard it can be for military veterans to separate from the service and start life anew as civilians.

He spent four years in the U.S. Navy, including deployments in the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

When Figueroa left the Navy in 2013, he found the transition tough at first.

"When you get back from deployment, you don't really accept the wounds you can't see," said Figueroa, who now works as a section manager for lab programs at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business.

One way he got through the transition was by using the services of Home Base, an organization that offers clinical care, wellness resources, education and research to help veterans of all generations, along with active service members and military families - including those who have lost loved ones. It is based in Boston but offers its services to people across the U.S. and around the world.

In Figueroa's case, those services included conversations with people who'd had similar experiences.

"It was nice to talk to somebody who could relate," he said. "It's one team, one fight."

Now he's giving back. Figueroa was among approximately 200 runners, walkers, volunteers and supporters from Raytheon Technologies who donned the company's red T-shirts to participate in the 2021 Run to Home Base, a 9K/5K course in Boston whose finish line is the home plate at Fenway Park.