Soldiers face challenges after returning home

Soldiers face challenges after returning home
Nahum Lopez
Section: News

With troops returning home daily from Iraq and Afghanistan the Texas Work force Commission, Veterans Affairs and the state of Texas have joined together to help soldiers reintegrate back into society.

"Not every one can carry the burdens we live with on a daily basis, " said Navy Corpsmen SGT. Euclides Misael Lopez, 26, of Port Arthur, TX who served in combat in Afghanistan in 2008-2009.

TWC is linking soldiers with the local Veterans Administration to help nurse the soldier back to mental health through several different programs.

"We didn't have these benefits the guys coming back now have. We had the same PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and some of us got over it, and some of us didn't and still have problems," said Air Force Technical Sgt. Nat Arriola who served in Vietnam in 1968-1969.

Arriola is also the Veterans Employment Representative for the East Texas Workforce Center.

Young recruits go in knowing that they will accomplish more than they ever expected. They bring with them perceived limits and learn to overcome them. However, many return home shell-shocked or suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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Soldiers face challenges after returning home