Veterans in law school finding a new way to fight

Finding A New Way To Fight



Ryan Cleckner and Brian Gregorio stand up for veterans at Quinnipiac law school


By ROBIN DeMERELL


Combat veteran Ryan Cleckner limped into a local veterans hospital after returning home from service as an airborne sniper and team leader in the U.S. Army’s 1st Ranger Battalion. He had severe hip and back pain and needed a cane to walk. The hospital’s doctors sent Cleckner on his way with a handful of ibuprofen – hardly the treatment he expected as a wounded veteran who served four years for his country.

After six years of fighting the system – lost medical records and misplaced disability claims – Cleckner had all but lost hope. Since Cleckner doesn’t shy away from a challenge, he decided to change the system – not just for himself, but for all veterans.

This past fall, the 30-year-old North Haven resident enrolled at Quinnipiac School of Law “so that I may learn how to fight the system in a way that can actually make a difference. I wanted to help veterans fight the [Department of Veterans Affairs] to get the care they deserve and help raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder issues,” he said. “I decided the best way to do this was to become a lawyer.”

Once Cleckner arrived at the Hamden law school he saw that there was no organization on campus for veterans. So he and fellow law-school student Brian Gregorio started their own Veterans’ Advocacy Group.
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