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Ron Clement, who has been a member of Army ROTC since 1999, served one year in the Iraq War after doing cleanup work in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. He is now a senior at OSU studying sociology.

From war zone to campus no easy move

After serving overseas, soldiers come home and return to lives on campus, in the classroom

By: Chelsea Anderson

Posted: 3/2/07

Neil Dysart sits at the back of the class, facing the door. He scans the room for potential threats, watching each person that comes and goes.

He is an Army soldier, specializing in aviation, whose life has been forever altered by his experiences overseas.

According to the OSU Web site, the ROTC program focuses on leadership development. It helps students learn problem-solving techniques, decision-making skills, planning and organizing skills, interpersonal communications skills, professional ethics and responsibilities in addition to other management and leadership skills.

The soldiers who have served in foreign countries and return as students have been impacted in many ways civilians may not realize.

"Re-acclimation was hard at first because you get so used to keeping your distance from everyone. I went into a Wal-Mart after I returned, and it was brand new again," Dysart said.

Dysart, a Western Oregon student who is in OSU's ROTC program, is working toward a degree in law enforcement.

"Multiple entries are bad for me," added Mathaniel Lehmann, a junior and a medic in the military. "It took some time getting used to being in buildings with multiple doors and people coming and going all the time. It would make me jump."

Lehmann, a husband and father of two sons, noticed he was more aggressive upon returning from a year in Iraq.

"It takes way less for me to reach an elevated level where I want to fight," Lehmann said. "Sometimes I have what I call 'red days' where I am extremely aggressive. I wouldn't pick a fight with anyone, but I almost want someone to pick one with me. I also noticed that I stare at people, which I know is not polite."

Realization doesn't set in for many soldiers until after they are deployed.

For Lehmann, it didn't set in until after he'd returned from Iraq.

"It really set in for me when my son crawled up on me and wanted to hug me. That really got me. When I was deployed, I was [angry] because it coincided with my son's birth, and I missed everything," Lehmann said. "When my second son was born, I got to see everything I missed from my first, but it was at that moment that I realized how the war really affected me."

"For many, it's the moment that you step on the plane and you're leaving your loved ones behind," Dysart said. "For me, it was one of the first nights we were [in Iraq], and I woke up to a guy screaming in his sleep."

Lehmann, who plans to make his career in the military, does not wish for his children to take the same path.

"It's a hard lifestyle, and it really changes you," Lehmann said.

Phil Van Leuven, a senior and speech communication major, said his marriage suffered as a result of deployment.

"Many marriages end when husbands and wives get deployed," Van Leuven said. "My wife and I divorced shortly after I was deployed."

"You really have to talk," said Major Michael Daniels, professor of military science.

Ron Clement, a senior and sociology major, said his 3 1/2-year marriage has grown in strength since deployment.

"I know I'm a minority in that aspect," Clement said. "We just reevaluated our priorities, and our relationship has grown."

Clement, a National Guard soldier, spent six months in Texas and Louisiana taking part in the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina.

He then spent a month in Kuwait before deploying to Taji, a city 20 miles north of Baghdad, where he spent a year fighting.

Clement, whose father was in the military, said he has become a more responsible and an overall better person since serving.

Clement's wife, Kelly, said it was extremely hard to be away from her husband for the 19 months.

The National Guard, along with other military branches, creates programs to help families with loved ones who have gone overseas.

"It helped a lot while Ron was gone," Kelly said. "The other wives and I would get together every Friday night, and Ron and I would have 'date night' on Wednesdays. We would talk via Web cam or instant messaging."

Kelly described an incident when a bomb went off in the building where her husband was during their Web cam chats or phone calls.

"I just heard the explosion, and then there was dead silence," Kelly said. "My heart just stopped."

When soldiers are away from their families and loved ones, they develop close bonds with fellow soldiers within their units.

"Your relationships become very strong," Lehmann said. "You worry where everyone is going and when they are coming back."

"You develop a family," Dysart said. "It's really hard when you learn your 'battle buddies' are being sent somewhere else. You bond so much."

Many of the soldiers, when they return home, feel that the media has skewed what is shown to the public.

"One day I was watching CNN, and they were covering a story about a soldier that was killed by a car bomb. It was supposedly in our sector. It never happened. There are just so many inaccuracies in the media. Eighty percent of the time we were doing good things for the country, but all the media wants to focus on is the negative," Lehmann said.

The soldiers also spoke about how Hollywood changes the perspective of the public and that depictions of war are often distorted.

"Most of the time, all people have to go by is what they see in movies," Dysart said. "They actually believe it's like that, when in actuality, it's completely different."

Many soldiers have different views of returning to foreign countries for war.

"I hated it," Lehmann said. "But eventually I want to go back."

Van Leuven said, regardless of preferences, most soldiers don't have a choice.

"It's inevitable," Van Leuven said. "If it's not Iraq, it'll just be somewhere else."