Colin Pascik discusses his experiences in the armed forces during an Oct. 19 veterans event at Monroe Township Middle School. See page 6. JEFF GRANIT staff In recognition of Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Greater Media Newspapers pays tribute to the men and women who serve in the nation’s armed forces. We honor veterans of all wars, but pay specific attention today to the nation’s most recent veterans, those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in the wake of the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001. The story below speaks of one such veteran, and we acknowledge that tens of thousands of other new veterans are facing many of the same challenges as they return from war.
On Sept. 12, 2001, Joe Pace, a young man from Metuchen, Middlesex County, made a choice that would forever change his life. Like other young men and women that day, Pace had seen what happened to America less than 24 hours before, and went out and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Joe Pace (above) served in the Marines, but found new challenges awaiting him when he left the armed forces. Yet when Pace came home in 2009 after eight years of active service and three tours of duty in Iraq, he was face to face with another battle — unemployment.
“When you are an active Marine or any other active-duty service member, that was your job. The day you get out [of the military], you are automatically unemployed,” Pace said.
Pace, his wife and their infant daughter relied on his wife’s income and the money he saved from his last tour of duty to support themselves for nine months before he could find a job.
“When I got out, the economy was terrible, it still is. I just remember thinking, ‘I have a daughter, I have a wife, I have payments and I have rent,’” said Pace, who is a disabled veteran. “The minute you get home and the hugs and kisses are over, it all hits at once. You realize all of your bills and stuff are coming.”
U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Joe Pace By the end of 2014, a large percentage of the more than 60,000 American men and women currently serving in Afghanistan will come home to one of the most trying economic times in the nation’s history.
A number of government and nonprofit programs have been established to make reintegration into civilian life a less harrowing experience for all of those new veterans. Organizations like the G.I. Go Fund, a nonprofit organization that began in South Brunswick, Middlesex County, have been set up to help veterans overcome some of the hurdles they face upon their return home.
“I think people should continue to greet veterans at airports and see them at parades, but they should also make sure to go a little further and help really welcome home a veteran,” G.I. Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous said.
Since 2006, Fanous said, the fund has worked to help tens of thousands of servicemen and servicewomen returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan try to find jobs. The organization’s most recent job fair was held Nov. 1 in Newark.
“As the months and weeks go by, the numbers [of new veterans] are increasing every day, so we are working to get programs going for them,” Fanous said.
Groups like the G.I. Go Fund also help veterans obtain the federal benefits to which they are entitled — benefits such as the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act, also known as the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The bill, which became law in 2008, provides tuition and fees for an undergraduate, master’s or doctorate degree, a monthly housing allowance, up to $1,000 a year for books and supplies, and a $500 stipend for those in rural areas.
Benefits can be used up to 15 years after an individual’s discharge from the armed forces and in many cases the benefit is transferable to a spouse or a child. To be eligible for the benefits, a veteran must have served at least 90 days of active service after Sept. 10, 2001. To obtain full benefits, a veteran must have served for at least three years.
In an effort to help veterans receive those benefits and other assistance for which they may be eligible, the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) is in charge of helping approximately 460,000 veterans in the Garden State get the help they need and have earned.
Education about those programs begins as soon as a service member deploys, according to Staff Sgt. Wayne Woolley, the department’s public affairs specialist.
“When you do deploy, you go through a process called the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program,” Woolley said.
Since shortly after the first deployment to Afghanistan in 2002, the program has included three meetings held every 30 days after a service member’s discharge to review the benefits that are available, as well as to determine what kind of help, if any, is needed.
One area that has been a growing concern for many veterans groups is the rate at which former servicemen and servicewomen are becoming homeless. According to Woolley, there are about 6,000 homeless veterans in New Jersey.
For those who find themselves without shelter, the DMAVA offers vocational and transitional housing at Veterans Haven North in Glen Gardner and Veterans Haven South in Winslow.
The department also runs the Joint Military and Family Assistance Center in Bordentown, where issues such as health care and financial matters are addressed.
Despite the availability of those programs, Pace believes there is room for improvement when it comes to the federal aspect of the Veterans Administration (VA).
“If you don’t get a job right away, you can’t deal with the VA right away,” Pace said. “Trying to put in for VA benefits takes forever. The average time for them to get back to anyone can be 18 to 24 months.”
Since his initial nine months of unemployment, Pace has been working as a utility mechanic with Public Service Electric and Gas.
Having gone through what many young men and women will be going through in the upcoming months and years, Pace said the key is to be persistent.
“Use your benefits … You earned them, so use them. That money itself could supplement you if you don’t have a job right away,” Pace said. “Also, get your claim in at the VA as soon as possible and go to a local veterans groups to help get your paperwork done.”
Resources on the Web:
The G.I. Go Fund: http://gigofund.org/
NJ Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs
http://www.nj.gov/military/veterans/
Post 9/11 G.I. Bill Guide, Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC3YDpi-Imk
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1WZ603hTtQ
NJ Vet2Vet: http://www.njveteranshelpline.org/
Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Veterans’
Resource Guide:
http://www.nj.gov/military/veterans/docs/GCADA_ Veterans_
Guide.pdf
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK
Vet Center Combat Call Center: 877-WAR-VETS
NJ Veterans Benefit Hotline: 1-888-8NJ-VETS
NJ Veterans Counseling Hotline: 1-866-VETS-NJ4