by Robert Stewart

    It has been nearly a decade since Sgt. Jeremy Green began serving in the military. The 27- year-old joined right after graduating from Boys Town High School in Omaha.
     "I spent my 19th birthday in basic training," Green said.
     He was active in the junior ROTC program in his school and wanted to join the Army to follow in familial footsteps.
     "I was set on joining the military because my grandfather was in the military. He was in the Army also," he said.
     Green wanted to go to college but he wanted to make sure he would apply himself at school.
     "I thought it would be a better idea to go and join the military first and get the structure in my life," he said.
     When he enlisted, Green was given a choice between a $2,000 signing bonus or $35,000 for college. He chose the money for college.
     After joining the army Green, whose father owns an service garage, initially wanted to work with weapons, but when a slot as a diesel mechanic opened he decided to take it.
     After nearly four years serving in the Army, six months of which were spent stationed in Germany and performing a peace-keeping mission in Bosnia, Green decided to join the National Guard rather than going on inactive duty when his first four years were up.
     This allowed him some choice in who he would be serving with should he be called up. He chose to serve with a Guard unit out of Nebraska rather than being assigned by the Army to an unfamiliar inactive unit.
     Green was approaching the end of his eight years in the military when his Guard unit was called up for service and deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, a city north of Baghdad (see map). He hit his "end of service" date while in Iraq, but his service was involuntarily extended. He was officially discharged in June of 2005.
     Green said the experience of being in Iraq differed from his time spent in Bosnia, but he didn't realize how different it was until it was over.
     "It really didn't hit me until we got back (from Iraq) how everything was over there," he said.
     After returning Green took advantage of the money he had saved while serving to spend time with his family and to take his girlfriend, Nicole Franklin and her family on vacation.
     "We went down and spent a week in Mexico and that was well deserved," he said.
     Green has been with Franklin for two-and-a-half years. He said that since returning there have been some arguments between them.
     "I think being over there has put some strain on the relationship," he said.
     He said he would serve overseas again, except he wants to preserve and maintain his relationship with Franklin. The stress of separation would cause undue anxiety for both of them.
     "If I was single, I would definitely go back over," he said. "But is was hard enough (on the relationship) the first time. I wouldn't want to go through it a second time."
     He attributed part of the current strain on the relationship to the difficulty in making the switch from life in the Army to the civilian world.
     "The hardest part about everything has been making the transition from being in the military where everyone knows how everything works and coming to the civilian world where everything's kind of disorganized," Green said. "And being in a leadership position over there and coming back to reality where you don't have that much authority."
     He added that after his training it is difficult to overcome the military mind-set.
     "They (the Army) kind of break you down and rebuild you in their eyes, what they think you should be," he said. "I used to be really easy-going, now I'm more focused on getting things done."
     After spending time with his family and easing back into civilian life, Green worked briefly at his father's shop, then found employment at a garage in Lincoln. He knew he wanted to go to college, but he was not sure what he wanted to study.
     "I didn't want to turn wrenches my whole life," he said. "I had no idea what I wanted to do when I got back. I wanted to go to school, but I didn't know what I wanted to take up."
     He eventually applied and was accepted to the heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) program at Southeast Community College in Milford.
     He has just finished a semester of general studies and he said he is anxious to begin learning about the trade more hands on. He liked the HVAC program because it offered several options– working with sheet metal, refrigerator repair, installation and repair of residential or commercial heating and cooling systems, or plumbing. He is looking forward to graduating in June of 2007.
     Green said the time spent in the military is helping him to focus on his studies, but it does set him apart from his classmates.
     "You learn how to mature real fast in the military. You actually see how the world works," he said. "It's a different transition from high school (to college) and they (his classmates) brought a little of high school with them."
     Although Green has been attending school, the money for college he was to receive for joining the Army has not been forthcoming. The money is to be paid in monthly installments while the recipient is in school, Green attributes the delay to the large number of soldiers returning to the U.S.
     "The hardest part is getting the money because it goes through the VA (Veteran's Administration) and they're so backed up," he said. "That's where the military is 'Hurry up and wait,' that old military slogan."
     Still working at the shop in Lincoln, Green has had to take as many hours as possible in order to meet his financial responsibilities.
     "I'm trying to work as many hours as I can," he said. "And going to school and getting homework done. I basically don't have a life right now, just school, work, sleep."
     Green refuses to dwell too much on the past, but acknowledges that it will always be there.
     "It plays a hard part in your life that you'll never recover from," he said.
     But he is optimistic about the future, taking the skills and dedication that he learned in the Army and using them as he gradually grows reaccustomed to civilian life.
     "It's still kind of slowly phasing back to reality," he said.
    
    "Coming Home" is a series of articles focused on the lives of Seward County soldiers returning home after serving overseas. The first installments will deal with soldiers who have been back for one year and their readjustment to civilian life.