Beginning Oct. 15, military veterans who go to VA Butler Healthcare can rest assured that the man overseeing their care has walked in their boots.

That will be the first day on the job for the facility’s new executive director: Jon Lasell Jr., a 25-year Army veteran who was injured in the line of duty and receives services through the VA health care system.

“I’m a veteran. I get my primary care through the VA. I will be an enrollee. I will be a consumer of the care I provide. I think that’s important,” Lasell said. “It’s important to understand what your beneficiaries experience.”

He spoke Tuesday during a phone interview from his soon-to-be former civilian job as director of business operations and chief of staff at the U.S. Army Medical Command Healthcare Contracting Activity in San Antonio, Texas, which is the Army’s headquarters for medical contracting.

Wednesday was Lasell’s last day at that job, which he has held for four years following his retirement from the Army.

Lasell enlisted as a private in 1989, went to college through the ROTC program and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He said he was injured while flying an OH58 scout helicopter, but went on to pilot a Blackhawk medical evacuation helicopter.

Lasell served in the Middle East during a number of operations, including Desert Storm, Desert Shield, Desert Thunder and Desert Fox.

He became a medevac pilot after graduating in 1995 from Prairie View A&M University in Texas with a bachelor of science in biology and as the Distinguished Military Graduate, which goes to the top cadet, and the recipient of the George C. Marshall Award.

Lasell’s resume includes a master’s degree in health care administration from Baylor University.

He said it is his military service and the jobs he has had in the Army medical system that give him a prospective that VA health care director should have.

“I understand how the military health care system works and what the expectation is. That’s a unique prospective I can bring to Butler. It’s important the people we have in executive director positions have an understanding of what veterans lived through. I’m a veteran. I get my health (care) through the VA. I’ve been deployed. I’ve been injured.

“I do bring a unique set of skills and perspectives to the table at Butler Healthcare. I’m excited. I have a passion for this. This is awesome. We’re going to do some great things there,” Lasell said.

VA Butler Healthcare is one of 19 Five Star hospitals in the VA health care system, which has 500 facilities.

“I think the data speaks for itself. It appears the community feels highly of Butler. It’s important to look for opportunities to improve not only the care but the interaction with the community and the veterans and the veteran organizations is the community,” Lasell said.

Helping veterans improve their wellness to prevent health problems is one of his goals.

“I have ideas beyond the health care areas and more into wellness. Do I really want to eat that hamburger or do I want to eat the chicken sandwich? Let’s focus on those things that make you sick and let’s eliminate some of those things,” Lasell said.

Providing recreational opportunities is part of that mission.

He said he will look for partners to give veterans chances to go hunting and fishing in the area.

“I want to build coalitions beyond the hospital,” Lasell said.

Before accepting the job, he said he was offered executive director positions at VA hospitals in Michigan and Kentucky, but it was the people of Butler County that made the difference.

After visiting the facility, he said he stopped at a restaurant and was greeted by a lot of friendly people.

“When I came to Butler, I felt at home,” Lasell said.

He and his family currently live in San Antonio, Texas, their native state.

He and his wife, Stephanie, and their three sons, Preston, 12, Pierce 10, and Jon III, 4, will live in Cranberry Township. He said he also has three children from a previous marriage.