As the USS Valley Forge floated away from the dock, news of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center made its way back to the tail end of the ship. No one had considered attack, at least not vocally. Not until that moment. The insignificant routine, a three-day excursion to sea, was now overpowered by a volatile, unpredictable threat. Electronics Technician 3rd Class Andrew Kleist, who had joined the Navy during peacetime to obtain money for college, suddenly found himself a part of the armed services in the midst of national tragedy.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles Lepperd sat outside the door to the radar room. The March sky was black; the dark water was calm. Off duty but with nowhere to go, Lepperd watched quietly as the first missile floated into the air. The rocket sailed up and paused, hovering for a brief moment. It cast a white glow on the water, illuminating the ship beneath it before suddenly blasting off across the sky toward Iraq.
As a John Muir College junior, Kleist said he doesn’t stand out as a veteran.
“”I don’t think anyone would notice, but I feel like I’m in a different place in my life than a lot of those people,”” he said. “”It’s hard to relate.””
Lepperd currently attends San Diego Community College and expects to enroll at UCSD in spring 2008. Although he has friends on campus, he is a bit apprehensive about the transition.
“”It’s going to be really different,”” he said. “”At [SDCC] there’s diversity, there’s an older crowd. I’m not sure if I will relate [at UCSD].””
Nathaniel Donnelly, a former sergeant who spent six months in Iraq with the First Marine Division during the initial 2003 invasion, began at San Diego State University in the fall. Pressed by the same reservations as Leppard’s and encouragement from a friend at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Donnelly began the Student Veterans’ Organization - a first at SDSU.
According to the organization’s Web site, the group aims to ensure that veterans at SDSU receive the benefits entitled to them, provide a link to counseling services if needed, lobby for increases in veterans’ education benefits and supply a social atmosphere for veterans.
Recently, the first student veterans’ organization at UCSD was registered. Delayed by a computer crash and the slow bureaucratic process of creating an organization, the founders are concerned that it may be too late in the year and are considering waiting until fall 2007 to commence operations.
Earl Warren College juniors and Veterans – Important People founders Erik Matson and Ryan Nelms met at Grossmont Community College where they both attended classes before transferring to UCSD mid-year. They agree that the organization will be a lot of work, but said they decided it was necessary.
“”A lot of people don’t know what they qualify to utilize,”” Nelms said of the roughly 200 veteran and dependent students on campus. However small a number compared to SDSU’s 600 veterans and over 1,500 dependents, veterans seem to agree that something needs to be done.
Physically, Matson stands out as he heads to the campus gym wearing desert camouflage shorts; his hair still reflects military grooming. Nelms also looks like a military man, but believes he is distinct for another reason.
“”There’s a little bit of a gap – I’m 30 and I have a 3-month-old kid,”” he said in regard to other students.
At a recent on-campus event on campus, “”Supporting Our Troops: Improving the State of Veterans’ Healthcare,”” sponsored by the United Students for Veterans Health, the College Democrats at UCSD and the Veterans’ Association at UCSD – a staff veterans organization – Donnelly encouraged any UCSD student veteran to speak to him about the process of starting a campus organization. However, neither Matson nor Nelms were able to attend.
The crowd of less than 40 consisted mostly of sponsors and nonstudents. When panelist Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) asked veterans in the audience to stand, it was clear there were no more than five student veterans present.
“”It’s not that they’re apathetic, they’re just so hard to contact,”” Muir senior Chris Weldon said.
Muir senior and President of the College Democrats Carmen Lo expressed a desire to reach out to veterans.
“”There’s a lot of veterans on campus and it’s so hard to get them together,”” she said. “”We had a veterans event and hardly any showed up. It’s really surprising. But it was a good first step.””
Kleist also feels that more unity among veterans is needed at UCSD.
“”[Veterans] have several disadvantages as far as fitting in to the social life on campus,”” Kleist said. “”We not only stand out because we’re veterans, but we’re usually also transfer students and we commute – some of us have kids and families, friends who aren’t students. If we’re not in class, chances are we’re not at school.””
Sixth College junior Raymond Newham, who served from 1996 to 2000, said he attended the panel to learn about veterans’ health issues but was inspired by Donnelly. Newham was interested in the social aspect of an organization, but was also concerned with the campus administration.
“”The [Veterans’ Association] has a void of presence,”” he said. “”You’re dealing with someone who isn’t affiliated with the [Veterans’ Association].””
Currently, the only information for veterans on TritonLink is located under the financial aid tab. Even there, the link for information directs students to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Web site.
The only representative on campus for student veterans is Student Affairs Officer Teresa Aguilar, whose job entails many tasks outside of dealing with veterans’ issues.
“”The [Veterans’ Association] system is no good,”” Kleist said. “”It’s so hard to get answers and you have to run all over campus to get things going. Having someone on campus is good, but it’s not enough. There needs to be a way to streamline the process here. A veterans’ organization could help do that.””
Expressing a definite willingness to join such an organization, Lepperd said he would be interested to find out what is available.
“”I would definitely work with them,”” he said. “”I feel it’s important to help younger veterans because they don’t know what they’re getting into.””
According to statistics drafted by the U.S. military and the California State University system, a 68-percent increase in student veterans was expected from 2006 to 2007, growing from 2,800 enrolled students to 4,700. This trend is predicted to continue as more troops complete their service and transition back into civilian life. It seems likely that the UC system will see similar increases in coming years.
Looking forward to watching the organization grow and learning how to better help incoming veterans, Nelms said, “”it will be good to see this club move on, turning into something bigger and better.””
