{"id":12648,"date":"2017-11-06T12:49:39","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T19:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=12648"},"modified":"2025-01-17T13:29:22","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:29:22","slug":"employee-vet-test-making-uchealth-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/employee-vet-test-making-uchealth-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"UCHealth employees: saluting the veterans among us"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jim Strife earned medals for his service around the world before he and his wife became heroes at home too. They rescued two foster children ten years ago and finalized their full adoption earlier this year. Photo courtesy of Jim Strife.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was 2 a.m. on the first night of the invasion of Iraq in 2003.<\/p>\n

James Strife<\/strong> was a major in the military police and his job that night was to oversee the operations center and coordinate troop movement around the former Iraqi air base they had captured earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

A patrol of Marines thought they had spotted enemy forces in a burned out building and wanted permission to fire on the position with artillery.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy board showed it was an unknown force and there was no way to determine at that time that is was friendly or enemy forces. I said \u2018no.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversation became heated and Strife had to wake his general, who backed him up.
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Featured in this article:<\/strong><\/p>\n

-James Strife – UCHealth<\/a>
\n-Kyle Sanchez – UCHealth Emergency Medical Services in northern Colorado<\/a>
\n-Terry Knapp – UCHealth Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs<\/a>
\n-Loretta Kuhlman – Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>
\n-Dr. Nancy Major \u2013 UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora and UCHealth Sports Medicine in Boulder<\/a>
\n-John Brockman – UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center<\/a>
\n-Carla Thorson – UCHealth in northern Colorado<\/a>
\n-Richard Weichel – UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital in Longmont
\n-Dr. Michael McDermott – UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cYou will not fire on this position,\u201d the general said.<\/p>\n

The next morning, infantrymen confirmed that Strife had been right. He had saved the lives of our own service members.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how Strife got his first Bronze Star Medal. He went on to earn another Bronze Star Medal for his service in Kandahar, Afghanistan, along with many other military awards. He retired as a colonel from the military in 2014 after 32 years of service.<\/p>\n

Strife is now the System Director of Security for UCHealth.<\/p>\n

His wife, L.J. also served 21 years in the service and together they had three children when they decided to become foster parents.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, just before Christmas, the Strifes completed their training and received their licenses to be foster parents. That night, they received a call that three young boys had been removed from their parents. Jim, L.J. and the kids loaded into their minivan at midnight and found the boys, ages 4, 2 and 1 in bad shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had severely decayed teeth because they\u2019d been given Coca-Cola instead of milk. They were malnourished and had many other physical and psychological issues,\u201d Strife said.<\/p>\n

\"Jim
Jim and L.J. Strife both served in the military. After having three children, they became foster parents. This year, the Strifes celebrated the final adoption of their two youngest. Photo courtesy of Jim Strife.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The oldest boy ended up going back with a family member, but the younger two have been part of the family ever since.<\/p>\n

After fighting for permanent custody for more than 10 years, the Strifes, earlier this year, finalized the full adoption of David, 13, and Sergio, 12.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re wonderful. They\u2019re thriving,\u201d Strife said.<\/p>\n

All five children still live at home. They are 22, 21, 17, 13 and 12.
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\nStrife said it\u2019s been an honor to serve both at home and around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy philosophy is that everyone should serve their country and their community. If you don\u2019t, I think you\u2019re missing an opportunity to make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go to top<\/a><\/div>\n
\"Staff
Staff Sgt. Kyle Sanchez, left, with an Afghan solider who he helped train for the Afghan Air Force airlift mission that provided relief operations to the country.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The desire to serve others has always been strong with Staff Sgt. Kyle Sanchez.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sanchez spent six years on active duty with the United States Air Force<\/a> at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, during which time he was deployed to Afghanistan as air advisor, training Afghan counterparts on how to run a safe and effective maintenance program for their airlift mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, being in the military fulfilled my desire to serve and be a part of something greater than myself, and I planned on making it a career,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cBut I had a change of heart after the floods that affected northern Colorado in 2013.\u201d<\/p>\n

For several days starting Sept. 9, 2013, rain deluged the Front Range, dropping record amounts that caused roads and almost entire communities to be washed away by floodwaters.
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Veterans among us: saluting our service members<\/strong><\/p>\n

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