From combat to college

Joseph Landor on December 4, 2010 in College Entry

Mien Quoc Ly said he lived through gang activity on the streets of Long Beach, Calif., dodged bullets and survived life-threatening injuries in Iraq, and now faces another test: graduating from college.

.

Senior Mien Quoc Ly displays his corporal and sergeant rankings from the United States Marine Corps after his service in 2003 and 2006.

Ly served in the Marine Corps for six years as a mortarman and sniper in the Iraq War during his early 20s. Now 27, he is a senior at the University of Washington.

“Most of the people who join the military come from poor or middle-class families. They don’t have a lot of money as it is,” Ly said. “[It’s] an opportunity for them to get out of their situation and [to] actually make it. The military promises you a career, a skill and money for college. That’s why a lot of us did it.”

After completing his first term of service, Ly decided he wasn’t ready for civilian life and so volunteered to return to Iraq after being home for only four months in 2004. At the end of his tour of duty, he enrolled in the University of Washington. Ly hadn’t initially wanted to go to college, but after serving in the military, he felt like it was the natural next step.

“I was getting tired of that life,” he said. “I was used to it, but I wasn’t used to seeing my friends get killed. We lost five guys and they were tight, close friends.”

Approximately 700 military veterans currently attend the UW. Their prior service roles range from mechanics to combat soldiers in war zones, but each has had his or her own challenges in transitioning to college life.

Senior Airman Aaron Blalack served for 13 months in the National Guard and four years with the Air Force, inspecting aerospace weapons systems components and support equipment in Milwaukee, Germany and Korea. Today he is finishing a major in psychology.

“It was really easy for me,” Blalack said about the transition to college. “I was really excited to go to college and wanted to go to classes. … When I told people [about] my background, they were cool about it. It was something that made me interesting. The only hard part was balancing school, work and friends. I’ve had to sacrifice my social life to make it work.”

It’s harder for some student-veterans to adjust than for others.

“I came back here and it was kind of weird because I looked at people and started hating people, started hating society in general,” Ly said. “You don’t really appreciate how easy you have it here, how you can be secure in a nice place, in a nice home. You don’t have to worry about catching a bus where there might be a bomb in there.”

Ly said he eventually did transition out of his combat mindset, but he described it as a constant distraction.

“At first, I didn’t know how to do that because when you come back you still have the war stigma, the thoughts, the nightmares, the dreams, but you get used to that,” Ly said. “It eats at you, though, keeps eating you and eating you and takes away a part of your soul. … I’m used to it now. It made me harder, made me stronger. It didn’t kill me.”

Ly is pursuing a degree in social welfare and sociology to help those returning from combat. He grew up on a military base, and having seen those returning from combat suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), he wants to help those in need.

One challenge is communication between student veterans and their collegiate peers. As Maj. Brett Rubio, a professor of military science, said, it’s difficult to convey to other students the life-threatening situations and stress-filled experiences of combat life. This communication gap can lead to misconceptions.

“Some people think we just blow everything up,” said Vincent Audo, currently a midshipman in the Naval ROTC program at the UW, “[But] the mentality of most [who] are deployed is, ‘I just want to do my job and go home.’”

Rubio went on to add that because of these problems, many veterans lose a sense of belonging, which can lead them to alcohol abuse and sometimes suicide.

“I believe an open dialogue between veterans and non-veterans helps the transition for veterans,” said Rubio, who has endured the military-to-college transition himself. “Veterans should have the opportunity to share stories and opinions, and the same with non-veterans. Both need to learn how to listen and communicate with each other.”

Ly recalled being asked multiple times: “How many people have you killed?” ­— to which he felt uncomfortable responding.

There has been an increase in veterans enrolled in universities with the post-Sept. 11 G.I. Bill. The UW provides resources to accommodate their specific needs. The Husky United Military Veterans (HUMV), for instance, is a support group for student veterans.

This winter Rubio will also teach a section of General Studies 391, which will equip veterans with study skills and information about the benefits and resources available to them for their military service. Rubio encourages everyone to enroll in the class so as to better understand the effects of combat.

In the meantime, Ly is learning to focus on tomorrow.

“I’m proud to be a Marine,” he said, “but sometimes, I think about it and wonder what’s next.”

Similar Posts:

Share

Leave a Reply