Brotherhood and the post-9/11 veteran

Readjusting to civilian life can be the biggest challenge that veterans, including the 2.6 million servicemen and women who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, face. In fact, 38 percent of active and retired military personnel consider that transition difficult, according to a 2015 RallyPoint/Rasmussen Reports national survey.

Some who study post-9/11 veterans have said that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on veteran wellness — and a bond to other veterans should be part of their strategy. The Center for New American Security published a case study in 2014 that stated that veterans’ relationships and networks — particularly with other veterans — are equally important to, or even supersede in some cases, the role of family, nonveteran friends and spirituality in a veteran’s life.

That kind of brotherhood is commonly found at veterans’ organizations around the county — but those groups struggle to appeal to post-9/11 veterans.

In East Rockaway, some younger vets have shown interest in and joined the organizations, but the numbers aren’t very high. At the East Rockaway American Legion Post 958, there are roughly 150 members, but only a small percentage are from the post-9/11 era.

“It’s hard to get the younger guys, just getting out, in here,” said John Pezzuto. “Not because they don’t care, but look at where they just came from! Maybe they’ll start coming in. All you need is a couple to start coming and then they’ll reach out to their friends and get them in here.”

Ed Morgan, a disabled veteran who served in the Navy from 1961 to 1965, echoed Pezzuto’s sentiments. “They’ve seen war at its worst,” he said. “They don’t really want to talk about or be around anything until the memory calms down. It’s not games, it’s real, and you see a lot of people that you know wind up not coming home.”

Morgan added that it took him 10 years to finally join the American Legion after getting out of the Navy. He also said he had a family to take care of and children to raise, which he offered as another potential reason post-9/11 veterans aren’t frequenting their local VFWs and American Legions.

Iraq war veteran Pat Cash, 30, of East Rockaway, said his job in a New York City plumbers union is one of the reasons why he hasn’t joined one of the groups, though its members have reached out to him. “A few guys at the VFW tried to contact me, but I haven’t signed up yet,” Cash said. “I can’t do it 100 percent because I work nights.” He found his job only weeks after returning from active duty in the Marines through Helmets to Hardhats, a program that connects members of the armed forces with construction careers.

Tom Seifert, of East Rockaway has been a Marine for nearly 25 years and currently serves as the command sergeant major of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and New York National Guard. He was one of the first military responders to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and did two combat tours in Iraq. He belongs to the East Rockaway VFW, which he joined in 2005, and he’s also active in the American Legion and is a member of the Suffolk County Police Veterans Association.

Seifert said he’s not as active in any of these veteran groups as he’d like to be due to family and work commitments, and he offered a possible reason for why younger vets aren’t active in many of these groups: expenses.

“There are more demands now of our younger veterans,” Seifert said. “The cost of living is going up and work demands are greater. As an active military reservist, I have all the same requirements as my active counterparts. That ... leaves very little spare time.”

A new model of brotherhood

Dr. Laura Werber, a senior management scientist at the RAND Corporation, whose research focuses on military personnel and families, said that some veterans gravitate toward a new model of brotherhood organizations that involve proactive, engaging missions. An example is Team Red, White and Blue, which started in 2010 and has over 100,000 members nationwide. The nonprofit has a Westbury chapter with more than 800 members. “We run, bike and swim,” said Nick Auletta, the Long Island chapter captain and an Army veteran. “We run marathons, triathlons and duathlons. We practice yoga, we standup paddleboard, we hike, dance and volunteer. We’ve had fun, active events such as sled hockey, curling, a polar bear plunge, and participated in community service events like Run to Rebuild in Long Beach.”

While some may look for more active outlets, East Rockaway VFW member Bob Jacoby, a Korean and Vietnam war veteran, said there are plenty of reasons for younger veterans to join his organization. “We’re a band of brothers,” Jacoby said. “We offer fellowship.”

According to Jacoby, the East Rockaway VFW boasts 162 members, but only about 20 percent of them are from the post-9/11 era. He said the group is actively trying to recruit younger veterans. “We’re starting to get them,” Jacoby said, “but what happens is, they’re still working. We are constantly trying to recruit the younger ones because we’re dying off.”