Return from war easy for some, difficult for other veterans

War is hell.

For veterans, the transition back to society from a warzone is supposed to be a relief from that hell, a time to rest and adjust into a normal life.

But for some, the experience is oddly similar to the one they face abroad.

“The hardest part of my deployment was coming back home,” said Olutimilehin Olusanya, an army veteran who served in Iraq in 2003 as part of the 3rd Signal Brigade, 16th Sig Battallion out of Fort Hood, Texas. “Iraq was a piece of cake compared to coming back home and trying to start over.”

Now a Troy University student headed for graduation in 2010, Olusanya is still struggling with aspects of his transition back to civilian life.

When he returned stateside in 2004, he expected a transitional period to visit family, prepare for the next phase of his life and heal, both physically and mentally.

Instead, he was greeted with a chaotic situation.

“My chain of command was horrible as far as what I was expected to do to transition out,” Olusanya said. “It was completely messed up. You’re supposed to get an entire year of transition time. My transitional period was about three weeks. Instead of getting a chance to fly to Minnesota to see family, I had to go to (physical training), get work, get shots, figure out how I was gonna go to school. I never even figured out how much money was owed to me by the government, because they rushed me into signing papers. Everything was a rush job.”

After seeing and experiencing life-changing events in Iraq, he questioned the legitimacy of the psychological evaluation given to him upon his return.

“I had a five-minute psych evaluation where they asked how I felt about my duty and how I felt about deployment, and if I had any other issues, I was given a 1-800 number,” he said. “I can’t say the situation was handled at all for me.”

Not every soldier has faced the same transitional problems as Olusanya.

Samson Police Cpl. Darrell Smith served in Iraq as a convoy escort with the Alabama Army National Guard 131 Cavalry, and he has nothing but praise for the way the military handled his transition back to civilian life.

“I have no complaints with the military,” he said. “Everybody talks about how Iraq affects you. They would tell us that everybody (there) is affected, you just don’t know how. I thought I was immune, because I’m a police officer, and I’m used to violence and people wanting to hurt others.”

However, Smith experienced a rude awakening on the Fourth of July in 2008, shortly after his return.

“I was roaming around in my patrol car. I saw a Roman candle in the road, and first thought was it was an (improvised explosive device), and I didn’t know what to do. That’s when I knew it affected me,” Smith said. “We were scheduled for six counseling sessions to talk about everything. There’s a thing called Military OneSource. You can call this one number, and it will get you connected with any and everything you need.”

He also credits the military’s counseling with helping him through many difficult situations that faced him while deployed.

Olusanya and Smith both said the process has improved over the years.

“For me, there would have to be a compare-contrast, because I was one of the first group of soldiers to go and one of the first to go back, so a lot of experiences I had weren’t the most positive ones,” Olusanya said. “They do a much better job now than when the soldiers first got back. Things are better now from what I hear.”

Smith sees the transition process continuing to improve.

“There’s a possibility I could be deployed to Afghanistan, and I know when I get back, the support system will still be there, and if anything it will have improved,” he said. “As time goes on with something, it usually gets better, because you find what doesn’t work and replace it with things that do.”