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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2011)
¡£1 k November 2. 2011 ^ortlani» (Observer Page$r Adjusting to Life after Combat Soldier just wants to be welcomed home C ari H achmann T he P ortland O bserver by Under strict military policy, a gay lover would not be welcome Mrowczynski, 32, a native of at his deployment ceremony. Eugene, does not want to be Mrowczynski stood alone as a thanked for the year of service he massive crowd of soldiers said spent as an infantry soldier in their goodbyes to surrounding Iraq; he just wants to be welcomed loved ones. “Everybody else's home. family was there except mine,” he Six years after his deployment, said. he is adjusting to life in the Even after a year-long hell in Tualatin suburbs. When crabbing Iraq, wherein the first few months at the Oregon Coast, canning a ‘terrified’ Mrowczynski survived home-made jams, or relaxing with his first improvised explosive de yoga, he momentarily forgets the vice and witnessed a fellow sol traumatic year of combat over dier die, he was still not greeted seas. by his closest loved one at his He is among the one in three return ceremony. U.S. veterans of the post-9/11 Compared to the violence that military, according to a recent poll caused him Post Traumatic Stress by the Pew Research Center who D isorder or “scatter b rain ,” believe the wars in Iraq and Af Mrowczynski said keeping his ghanistan were not worth fight sexuality hidden was easy. Not ing. flamboyant as many in the military By his own experience, believed gay men to be, he said, “I Mrowczynski recommends that no never fit the bill of what peoples’ one join the military, “We have stereotypes of what homosexual two illegal wars going o n - I don’t ity was.” want to see more people involved Though he talked on the phone in it.” with his partner, he avoided shar He shares a litany of problems ing family stories with other sol he faced in active service and upon diers. He kept a photograph of a his return to civilian life. female friend in his wallet to cre After graduating high school ate the impression he was straight. in 1996, military recruiters encour When Mrowczynski left the aged the 19-year old to join the military, he returned to Eugene National Guard under the persua and graduated from University of sion that he would be granted Oregon with a sociology degree. scholarship money in return for But like a million other graduates his service. He became a ‘tanker hoping to get a decent job in the by trade’ and was stationed in worst economic slump this coun Fort Hood, Texas from 1998 to try has ever seen, he was disillu 2001. sioned by the poor prospects. Sometime later, Mrowczynski He was told that his Veteran met his partner. As a gay soldier status would add points to his enlisted under Don’t Ask Don’t resume on state and federal jobs Tell, he had to keep his love and that would put him ahead of civil family life secret. ian applicants. But with only tanker experience in the military to Noah Mrowczynski plays music less often since he was in the service, but living with his partner, George, he is discovering new enjoyments that help him adjust to a more peaceful life, like caring for his two dogs, three cats and four chickens. Because every child needs a safe place to run and play. Veteran Services Seek Volunteers Volunteers are needed to help improve the quality of life for vet erans within the community. Washington County Disabil ity, Aging and Veteran Services, which serves over 3,600 veterans and their families each year, are recruiting volunteers to help them coordinate claims and appeals for veterans benefits. The volunteers provide admin istrative support, including the upkeep of files, record keeping, researching case topics, computer data, telephone services, and spe cial mailings. Needed skills include a basic knowledge of office practices and procedures, an ability to effec tively alphabetize files correctly and efficiently, good organization and communication skills, and an ability to maintain confidential ity. The time commitment is flexible on most days and times. The Vet eran Services office is open in Hillsboro, Monday through Fri day, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., located at 180 E. Main Street, Suite 208. If in terested , em ail Rebecca_Tabra@co.washington.or.us with a resume or call for an appli cation at 503-846-3087. a sociology aegree, ne got no job offers. Mrowczynski finally found em ploym ent after applying to Verizon, apparently a pro-military company. Today, he works for Frontier Communications, a com pany that gives preference to vet erans with degrees. But he is still running into ob stacles to Veterans benefits. In attempts to purchase a house with a V A loan, he and his partner were told that they could not qualify as domestic partners. The couple needed to be married. 'So now we can serve our coun try, but were not going to get the same benefits?" he said. When he applied for benefits for his PTSD, he stopped taking his medications, so they would believe thafhe needed treatment. He expects to get 30 percent of his costs reimbursed. Mrowczynski said it wasn’t until he returned from Iraq and began classes at U of O that he began to question the government’s reasoning for in vading Iraq, "K now ledge is power. We were kept in the dark." "They sent me to Iraq, for what reason? I still don’t know,” he said. duck Let's make safe places to play a priority in our neighborhoods. Go> multco-itstartshere.org
