A Veteran's Perspective

The majority of student entering college are young and fresh out of high school. Carefree and vibrant, they haven't had many life experiences. The hallmark of any education is being able to flex your critical thinking skills and express your thoughts. What if the student has minimal free thoughts based on their military training? The basis for survival during war is muscle memory. As a soldier you do not have time to analyze and organize, only react. The choices that you have, and are expected to utilize, in college is the challenge for many veterans.

Post secondary institutions are seeing an increase of combat veterans enrolling, but are these student set up for failure? These veterans are in their 20's and are coming back from war with a GI Bill and other funding to pay for their education. Most think that they will come back and easily integrate into the classroom, but they lack the tools to overcome the learning barriers that their service time has created.

 Nic is a prime example of these issues that veterans are facing. This young Marine turned 19 at boot camp. He completed two tours of duty in Iraq. He has attempted numerous times to attend college in the last 6 years or so but every time it proves too difficult to handle. Nic says that many traditional students find it easy to stay relatively focused in the class room but he has spent "many hours reflecting on my two tours in Iraq. When the thoughts and memories come I have no control."  

The trials and tribulations that a combat vet faces as he attempts to improve his quality of life are far different than that of a traditional student. It is essential that each veteran is given the rehabilitation that they need to function in society but the re-integration classes that soldiers attend the day they get back are virtually useless according to Nic. Nic said that sitting in a room learning how to live normally was the last place he wanted to be when he got back to the US.  "I wanted to go drink with my buddies and see my family. When I was sitting in that class that's the last place my mind really was".

Fabian Torres, Veterans Services Support Coordinator, works with Nic and many other veterans at the Disability Network. Nic has had other counselors assigned to him by the VA but he says that Fabian is the only one that he has connected with. "It's nothing against them but it hard to relate to someone unless they've been there. With Fabian being a Marine too it's easy to talk to him because he gets it".

Fabian says that each veterans need to figure out what works for them. "There are so many resources out there, take advantage of them". 

For more information about the many veterans services available visit our website at www.dnmm.org.