PISCATAWAY, N.J. — In a row of beige cubicles in a suburban office park, a hulking former Army sergeant hunched over his phone next to a photo taken in Afghanistan, a few days before he was hurt by a roadside bomb.

“Look, man, sometimes you’re dealt a raw deal and you’ve got to play it,” the former sergeant, Adriel Gonzalez, said into his headset. Big as a bouncer, he wielded his gruff voice tenderly. “I’ve known you long enough that you’re ready to hear this: It’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows. You might be in for a lifelong struggle, but it is a doable one. This I can tell you, my friend.”

On the other end of the line was a combat veteran, also wounded in Afghanistan, who had called a peer hotline, Vets4Warriors, that connects troops and former service members seeking help with veterans.

Since 2011, Vets4Warriors has fielded more than 130,000 calls from military personnel stationed around the world. The counselors say their military service and nonclinical approach help them form a bond with callers that can break down mistrust.