By Hector Flores
As it turned out, the soldier was just too withdrawn to attend any of the post¹s monthly meetings.
³I have tried to get at least three veterans returning from Iraq to join,² Jensen said. ³But they¹re like snails. They just want to crawl back into their shells and hide. They just don¹t want to be a part of society.²
Jensen is hopeful, however, that with the recent commitment by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi and the federal government to open a county veterans center specializing in treating soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorders, young veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will receive the help they need to once again become active members of society. ³These are the guys that need the treatment,² Jensen said.
Although the county has yet to find a location for the center, the federal government has already agreed to pick up the tab.
Suozzi made his announcement on Feb. 14 at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City. ³We owe a great debt to our soldiers, and I am gratified that the federal government will help us start repaying that debt here in Nassau County,² he said. Our returning soldiers gave their best and they deserve our best in return.²
Edward Aulman, director of the Nassau County Veterans Service Agency, explained that the county is currently working with the federal department of Veterans Affairs to find a location for the center, and that the center is expected to be open by October. It will offer individual and group readjustment counseling, marital and family counseling, alcohol and drug education and referral, help in securing employment and education, and bereavement counseling for families who have lost loved ones.
³Nassau County is uniquely qualified to support a vet center,² Aulman said. ³Not only do we have a large number of combat veterans from World War II to the present, but our veterans are united in ways that will guarantee the success of a vet center. We have 55 American Legion Posts, 35 VFW Posts, 30 other veterans organizations, newspaper columns and a United Veterans Association television program, all ready to spread the word about the new vet center to our returning service men and women.²
According to reports published by the Department of Defense and other federal agencies, some 17 percent of returning combat veterans have symptoms that, if left untreated, can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. According to Aulman, the aim of the vet center is to address these symptoms early and help returning soldiers make a more successful transition to civilian life.
The center will be one of 23 new Veterans Affairs sites nationwide.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
