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MARCH 6, 2020, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 KeizerCommunity KEIZERTIMES.COM Even without PTSD, re-entry can be rough for vets By LAUREN MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Keizer resident Todd Stretar has worn many hats in his life– hus- band, dad and employ- ee, all of which came before he joined the U.S. Navy. “I was married, di- vorced with kids and all that stuff before the Navy was ever a thought,” he said. After the di- vorce, Stretar ended up living a mile in eir boots th A series featuring the lives of veterans after they came home. out of his car. “I was still work- ing and all that stuff, just couldn’t afford a place to live,” he said. Despite not being able to afford a place to live, he chose to stay in Texas to be close to his sons. WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN Do you have an item that you’d like appraised? We can do that. Need repairs or cleaning? We can do that too. From minor repairs to full rebuilds, our certifi ed, in-house jewelers will clean and repair your treasured pieces so you can enjoy them for years to come. Submitted ABOVE: Stretar and wife, Amber, walking off the pier in Bremerton, WA after he returned from his last de- ployment on the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). RIGHT: Todd Stretar today in his ca- pacity as a Farmers Insurance agent. When his brother started talking about joining the Navy, Stretar wanted to try before he was too old. At age 29, he en- listed in the Navy. “It changed the whole tra- jectory of my life,” he said. “Whether you’re a kid coming out of high school, this is your fi rst time away from mom and dad’s house (or) somebody like me who’s had an adult life, there’s always an adjustment period,” he said of joining the service. He was in the service for 10 years as a logistics specialist before being medically retired in April of 2018. While he did some work in other areas, Stre- tar said he mostly worked with the aviation side of the Navy. For him, the hardest part was being away from his sons. He talked about calling them at 4 a.m. his time so they would be able to talk on their time. “Also, watching Sunday football on Monday morning in Japan is really crazy,” he said, laughing. Though being away from his kids was hard, Stretar did note that he was fortunate to have the freedom to talk with home and watch Sunday foot- ball, even if it was on Monday mornings. “That’s not everybody’s sit- uation,” he said. Stretar said his time in the service was invaluable. In ad- dition to learning new skills and meeting new people, he got to walk on the places where history happened. “To be in locations where world changing events hap- pened and just soak it in, it’s just surreal,” he said. After com- ing back home, Stretar struggled with a loss of pur- pose. “As bad as your day is in the mili- tary, there is still some sort of purpose or meaning behind it,” he said. “Working in civil- ian job does not always have that sense of duty.” Stretar added that civilians don’t care in the same way mil- itary personal do. “If you don’t show up for work Monday, your boss isn’t going to come beating down your door to check and see if you’re dead,” he said. “There’s not that purpose, there’s not that meaning, there’s not that care for your employees gen- erally.” About nine months after Stretar got out, he began to struggle with depression be- cause he didn’t have something greater than himself to work for. “Shortly after Christmas of ‘18 when I was in the middle of this massive funk. I came to the conclusion that I had to step outside of myself,” he said. He called the Young Life area director and offered to volunteer, “I was thinking she was going to say, ‘come to the offi ce and help me lift heavy things,’ or do stuff like that,” he said, instead she invited him to a new leaders meeting where he met his best friend. “I think it’s really important for veterans and anybody to realize that this whole grand scheme of things is not about you, it’s about everybody else and your impact on their life,” he said. One thing that Stretar wants civilians to understand is that not every veteran has Post-Traumatic Stress Disor- der (PTSD). While there are legitimate cases of PTSD, it does not apply to every veter- an who’s ever served. “Veterans have a lot to bring to the table,” he said “I encourage any business to hire veterans, I encourage vet- erans to start their own busi- nesses, I encourage anybody to give to organizations (that help veterans),” Stretar said. Stretar has been home for almost two years. He settled in Keizer because it is his wife’s hometown. He has two sons, age 15 and 17, and a 21-year- old stepdaughter who is at- tending Chemeketa Commu- nity College. He is currently working as a Farmer’s Insur- ance agent in Salem. WE BUY GOLD & SILVER 4965 River Road N, Keizer • 503-393-0701 is your pet the cutest? how about the funniest? then enter the Pets We Love photo contest The Keizertimes in partnership with Capitol Auto Group, will publish this special section in April, filled with photos of Keizer's pets. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place honors will be awarded for cutest pet photo and funniest pet photo. — H O W TO S U B M I T — Email: kt@keizertimes.com Mail or Deliver: 142 Chemawa Rd N, Keizer, OR 97303 deadline is march 31
