In honor of Veterans Day 2024, we are highlighting some of our veteran treasures – our staff! Welcome to this special edition of “Honoring FHW Veterans.”
Meet Brian Schroeder, who is a Maintenance Technician II, on the FHW Plant Operations Team.
Brian Schroeder, joined the U.S. Navy right after high school hoping for some direction in life. He almost picked the U.S. Marine Corps but the Navy had more opportunities for him, he said, signing up in September 1996.
For a kid from Fort Worth, Texas, being at sea was certainly a change of scenery for him. Brian said he mostly saw dark blue waters and some black dolphins would swim with the ship sometimes.
“Oceans are nuts,” he said. “The ship had a rocking that would put you to sleep.”
The nuclear reactor was located in the bottom of the ship and that would be his responsibility for the remainder of his time as a Machinist Mate. The USS John C. Stennis is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and is named in honor of U.S. Senator Stennis, from Mississippi. Home away from home, for Brian.
Initially, after completing his training he was deployed for six months with 15 ports scheduled. He had a three-day stop in Australia and then came an Alert 5, and the ship went straight to the Persian Gulf missing 13 of the scheduled ports. Getting the ship through the Suez Canal had them all on high alert, with a call out to everyone onboard to man their station.
After four years, Brian left the U.S. Navy as an E-4 and returned to Texas. He became a power plant operator for Southern Methodist University.
“The military opened me up and got me out of my shell,” he said.
From Texas, he moved on to New Mexico and then to Western Colorado. He joined Family Health West in November 2019, after a friend referred him to an open position. He said, as a kid, he always liked taking things apart and putting them back together so being on the FHW Plant Operation Team is a good fit for him and his fondness for DIY projects pulls him into maintenance from time to time.
We are so proud Brian found his way to Family Health West and thank you for your service!
