For veterans, a homecoming in St. Petersburg

For veterans, a homecoming
By Aaron Sharockman, Times Staff Writer
In print: Sunday, May 18, 2008



ST. PETERSBURG — Once a proud business owner, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Thomas now has trouble helping his youngest son finish simple school assignments.

Thomas, 46, cannot feel his right arm. Sometimes, he says, he can hardly walk.

Yet Thomas, a career Army reservist who was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Iraq, could not be stopped from reuniting on Saturday with fellow veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Even though he recently left the Tampa Bay area for South Carolina, where his wife took a new job, he maintains local ties. And he drove down specifically to swap stories and meet fellow veterans at a "Welcome Home" picnic hosted by the Bay Pines VA Medical Center.

The picnic is part of a nationwide effort by the Veterans Affairs Department to help veterans readjust.

"This is where I'm comfortable," said Thomas, who has spent time in combat zones in Grenada, Bosnia and in was part of both wars with Iraq. "I tried to be the tough guy and do it on my own. But this time it hit me harder."

The afternoon event, which was co-hosted by the Pinellas County Gator Club, was as much about reminding veterans they remain part of something, as it was about free hot dogs, sodas and brownies.

All too often, experts say, veterans returning from war find it difficult to acclimate to peace time life. The change can lead to drug use, depression and difficulty keeping a job.

Jayne Blacklin, the program manager for returning Afghanistan and Iraq veterans at Bay Pines, said the Tampa Bay area has the highest unemployment rate in the nation for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at 9 percent.

Making matters worse, only about 30 percent of veterans go to VA hospitals, officials say.

Veterans like Thomas need obvious help, because their problems are physical. But that doesn't begin to detail the depth of the situation, Blacklin says.

Overall, Bay Pines is treating 1,400 veterans returning from either Iraq or Afghanistan.

"A lot of times, there's this mentality that you've been through worse, suck it up," Blacklin said. "We're trying to create an environment — that's maybe a little different from a big standard hospital — where people might come in for help."

Blacklin said a few patients brought friends Saturday who may also need help.

Chris Bufford, 23, shows no physical scars from his seven months in southwest Baghdad.

But the National Guard specialist is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Bufford sought treatment at the advice of his father, a Vietnam-era veteran.
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