Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

The war comes home: Afghanistan vets face battle to readjust to everyday life

They spent a year building 15 schools and a dozen clinics, delivering 2.7 million pounds of humanitarian aid and fighting off the Taliban during an ever-more violent war.

But since the remaining members of the Illinois National Guard 33rd Infantry Brigade returned home in September from Afghanistan, they've been battling how to adjust to their everyday lives.

About 100 soldiers and their families attended a National Guard reintegration event Saturday at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.

"This is my first time coming back from deployment," said 21-year-old Specialist Dustin Cade, of Vandalia.

Joined by his wife, Rebecca, Cade was pursuing information about the education, health and other veterans' assistance benefits available. The couple also planned to attend a workshop called "Reconnecting with my spouse."

The daylong event included counseling and workshops concerning deployment stress, money management and employment/re-employment rights.

Sgt. Major William Degenhardt, the rear sergeant major for the brigade, encouraged soldiers who knew fellow soldiers who did not attend a reintegration event. "You really need to have the participation, because we're all one team," he said.

He said the ones who don't show up often are the ones in need of counseling -- counseling that Degenhardt said he has needed in the past.

"It doesn't demean you," he said. "All it means is you might have a few issues you need to take care of."

First Lt. Debra Cleveland, of Highland, said she attended because "I don't know a lot about the post 9/11 GI bill, so just what benefits are out there."

About 3,000 Illinois National Guard soldiers, the largest deployment since World War II, were part of Operation Phoenix in Afghanistan. The group, which included about 50 soldiers from the metro-east, began returning home in August. They are guaranteed not to be deployed for the next three years, unless they volunteer. The group of soldiers received 100 Purple Hearts and 130 Bronze Stars. The Illinois brigade lost 18 members.

SWIC President Georgia Costello said it was fitting the event was at the college, where between 700 and 800 veterans take classes every semester.

"We care about our vets," she said.