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IRAQ WAR MEANS LOTS MORE WORK FOR MASSACHUSETTS

VETERANS' AGENTS -- They're also performing duties

that haven't been needed, for the most part,

since the Vietnam War.

 

 

Story here... http://www.salemnews.com/local/
local_story_085094019?keyword=topstory

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Iraq War means lots more work for local veterans' agents

By Martina Brendel , Staff writer
Salem News

These days, Jean-Guy Martineau does much more than place flags on headstones.

As Salem's veterans' agent, Martineau could be talking to a young soldier with post-traumatic stress, driving an older veteran to the Bedford VA hospital or registering a widow for benefits.

"I'm a doctor, patient representative, social worker, Boy Scout leader," he said. "What I do in the community is in many areas."

As the country completes its fourth year of war in Iraq, Martineau and other North Shore veterans' agents are finding their services in demand now more than ever.

"When I first started, I was probably seeing maybe one to two people a week and getting half a dozen phone calls," said Jerry Guilebbe, who was hired as Beverly's veterans' agent in 2003. "Now it's just nonstop."

They're also performing duties that haven't been needed, for the most part, since the Vietnam War. Swampscott Veterans' Agent Jim Schultz has organized two military funerals for people killed in combat in the last six months - the first for Army Spc. Jared Raymond and the second for Marine Capt. Jennifer Harris.

"It was taxing, but I'm just trying to make sure the families are taken care of at this point," Schultz said.

He spent last Sunday shoveling a path to Raymond's grave so his grandmother could visit and digging a hole at Harris' grave to put a white cross.

Guilebbe and Martineau said they typically see four Iraq and Afghan war veterans each week, more when a unit returns. Their job is to sign them up for services offered by the federal, state and local governments and help them find jobs, education and child care.

"These younger vets are now looking for services that World War I and II vets don't really need anymore," Guilebbe said. "They're coming in here looking for services not only for themselves but also for their wives, kids. A lot of it requires research."

Lots of paperwork

While the federal government has recently come under fire for the poor conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., local veterans' agents have only positive things to say about veterans' hospitals and services here.

Tapping those resources, however, can be a lengthy process. Guilebbe recently spent seven hours one day registering an Iraq veteran for health care, life insurance, disability benefits and counseling.

"There are so many avenues out there for these guys if they want to take advantage of them," he said, "but it takes time."

In addition to returning soldiers, veterans' agents have also been inundated with applications for health care through Veterans Affairs as a result of soaring private health care costs. People who had previously shied away from help - Vietnam veterans, World War II servicewomen and widows - are now claiming their benefits, Martineau said.

"A lot of World War II vets are lady vets coming into this office," he said. "They just didn't feel like real veterans because they weren't in heavy combat, but because of the need for prescription drug coverage and health care, they came into the system."

While the workload has gone up, veterans' agents haven't seen an increase in staff. In fact, many already wear multiple hats.

In Peabody, Chris Tighe doubles as the city's emergency management director. In Danvers, Veterans' Agent Larry Wood also directs the Human Resources Department. And in Swampscott, Schultz, a full-time police detective, receives a $9,000 stipend to serve as veterans' agent, too.

Happy to help

Tighe, who left a career with the Internal Revenue Service in 2005 to accept the job, said it takes long hours sometimes. "I don't work 32 hours. I work 60, or as long as it takes to do the job in a week."

The satisfaction he takes from it, however, more than makes up for the long hours.

"Anybody can have a day that they feel burned out," he said, "but once you get a pleasurable day, it recharges your batteries."

He cited as a recent example a pair of hearing aids he was able to obtain for a World War II veteran.

"If you don't have wins, that's when you get burned out really quickly."

Jim Schultz spends nights and weekends making house calls on veterans and visits once a week with the Raymonds and Harrises. His schedule is hard on his wife and two children, but Schultz said they are understanding.

"It's the right thing," he said. "Obviously, it's not for the money. I guess I like it. I like helping."

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Larry Scott  --