From combat to health care: How veterans successfully transition to civilian careers
Transitioning from military service to civilian life can be challenging, and perhaps the most important challenge is finding the right employment when your military commitment ends.
Over the next year we will give examples of how military service can lead to rewarding careers in various industries. Along the way, we will give a shout-out to veterans who are making a difference in their new civilian jobs.
Today, I’m taking a look at health care. Brown Medicine is a primary care practice with over 200 physicians across Rhode Island. It is affiliated with The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and employs most of their full-time faculty.
Brad Crough, director of analytics
Brad Crough takes raw health-care data from a variety of sources and transforms it into “meaningful insights to make better decisions in patient care, research, and teaching.”
Crough credits the military with preparing him for this job. “I literally started in rocket science, using Patriot missiles to knock down incoming warheads. I sat in the desert for years and learned I had a passion to code.
“The Army taught me it’s about people, and moving people to get things done. Plans don’t always work – you still have to hit the curveballs in life. The Army instilled a level of discipline and patience that guides my actions to this day.”
Born and raised in Connecticut, Crough attended Bryant College and joined the ROTC program. He graduated in 1998, becoming an Air Defense Artillery officer.
He served four years all over the world, then came back to the Connecticut National Guard to finish his service obligation. Assigned to an aviation unit as an administrator, he was deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003-04).
His job was to recover classified components from downed aircraft. Captain Crough earned the Bronze Star for combat action.
He resigned in 2008 and started work as a financial analyst for Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Brown Medicine hired him to do some contract work, and in 2011 he joined Brown Medicine full-time.
Encouraged by his mentors to pursue education, he enrolled at Southern New Hampshire University for his MBA, earning that degree in 2015.
Brad met his wife at Bryant. “She is from Smithfield,” Brad explains. “She supported my military journey for years, so moving back home was the right thing to do for her and our three children.”
Michael Machost, practice manager, pulmonary medicine
“My job is to maintain the daily office operations and ensure the patient workflow for doctors is running smoothly,” said Michael Machost.
Like Crough, Machost credits his military background with success in his new position. In August 2022 he retired as a senior master sergeant after 20 years in the Air Force.
“The military taught me to time-manage appropriately, and always keep moving forward — making yourself better than you were yesterday.”
Born and raised in Mississippi, he always wanted to serve, “Both my grandfathers, stepfather, and one uncle served during a conflict and I knew that was for me.”
Several family members also had a medical background, so he took that path. Working as a surgical aide at a Jackson hospital when 9/11 happened, Machost got serious about the military.
“I joined the Air Guard because they offered a flying job evacuating patients: Aeromedical Evacuation Technician. I signed up in August 2002 and never regretted it.”
Machost went through LPN and EMT training, and went to flight school to become an “air evac.”
Although he was never a full-time guardsman, he took advantage of training opportunities and volunteer missions offered nationwide. He deployed for natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He was deployed to Ramstein, Germany in 2005 during the Iraq conflict.
In 2008 he earned a degree from Mississippi College. He relocated to Connecticut for family reasons and joined the Air Guard there.
Machost moved up the ranks into a superintendent of nursing services role.
He met his wife Kendall in Rhode Island. They have 5 children between them, ranging from 12-18 in age.
After moving to Tiverton in 2017, he continued to work as an LPN, and enrolled at UMass Dartmouth for his Master's in Health Administration. He juggled a full-time student load with work at a local medical practice, along with his Air Guard duties and parent/spouse responsibilities. He graduated in the spring of 2021; that achievement led to his hiring by Brown Medicine a few months later.
His advice to other veterans and service members: “The amount of effort you put into your military career is what you will get out of it in return.”
Echoing Crough’s sentiments, he added, “Our best laid plans have a high probability of not working, so have a contingency and be adaptable to the changes.”
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Attention Vietnam vets: Share your feelings about any aspect of your Vietnam experience: March 29 marks the 50th anniversary of the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Vietnam. The March 27 column will address your feelings about the war, then and now. Email me at veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com
Also: If you know any veterans or service members who deserve recognition for the work they are doing today in their civilian employment, please reach out as well.
To report the outcome of a previous activity, or to add a future event to our calendar, please email the details (including a contact name and phone number/email address) to veteranscolumn@providencejournal.com
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Veterans at Brown Medicine: Military skills help excel in healthcare
