State College of Florida organization helps in transition back to civilian life

Website helps vets 'come home'
SCF organization helps in transition back to civilian life

By SARA KENNEDY - skennedy@bradenton.com


MANATEE -- When Jason Collins returned to college after military service, he was suffering from flashbacks of faces of people he had seen in Afghanistan.

Thoughts of his time overseas, which included being hit by a homemade explosive device, plagued him, and he was treated for post traumatic stress disorder.

“The PTSD thing -- it really does eat you up,” he said between classes at State College of Florida.

“The good thing about getting involved in school is it allows you to meet people that understand; it gives you somebody to talk to. Veterans really look for that sense of camaraderie.”

Collins, 28, of Bradenton, struggled to adjust to civilian life. So did fellow student Scott Waite, 31, of Sarasota.

Out of their struggle came a campus vets’ organization and a new website, www.MyRebootCamp.com.

The two men and others appear in videos on the website, an effort to help smooth the transition for their fellow military vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States and college.


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