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Above: A gun salute and taps honor veterans on Nov. 11 during a ceremony outside the Hamilton Room. Left: Ryan Lonergan was stationed in Iraq for ten months carrying out over 700 missions.
Ryan Lonergan’s life transitions from combat to classroom after six years of service
By Michael Riley News Editor
Ryan Lonergan sat in his high school Eng- lish class listening to his fellow classmates ask their teacher about college. For him, these questions seemed like a foreign language. His teacher explained how she was working toward her masters, which cost her nearly $30,000 a year. Lonergan looked in his pocket. He only had 5 dollars. His single mother, Colleen, raised him and his younger brother, McKinze. Paying for college would be his responsibility. Two weeks later, Wisconsin Army Na- tional Guard recruiters came to Watertown High School. Lonergan said he remembered them tell- ing him it was the hardest thing a person could do. He said he wanted to challenge himself while making his mother proud. Today, Lonergan is a Lonergan military veteran who served for six years. He is now a UW-Whitewater ju- nior studying sociology with a minor in crimi- nology. 7KH UHFUXLWHUV¶ YLVLW ZDV QRW WKH ¿ UVW WLPH Lonergan considered enlisting in the the mili- tary. “I was the type of kid that would wear FDPRXÀ DJH HYHU\GD\ LQ HOHPHQWDU\ VFKRRO and play army with my friends,” Lonergan said. “As I got older, I had the biggest collec- tion of guns. It was like a Gander Mountain in
my closest. I always wanted to be a soldier.” Graduating high school in 2006, Lonergan was shipped to Fort Benning, located outside Colubus, Ga., for three months. He learned ba- sic infantry skills, returned home and was as- signed to various units across Wisconsin. In early 2009, Lonergan was sent overseas and spent 10 months in the southern part of Iraq stationed at Camp Bucca. He was a part of more than 700 missions, oversaw prisoners and worked in civil affairs, where he helped improve the quality of life in and around the base for the local Iraqis, includ- ing a building a water tower, Lonergan said. Lonergan said during his six years as a sol- dier he transformed into something he always wanted to become. “I wasn’t the Ryan that graduated high school,” Lonergan said. “I was a different Ryan. I was a soldier.”
Reintegration into civilian life Lonergan said looking back on his six years of service, he cannot believe how fast it went. Transitioning from active duty to civilian life and college life has taken its toll on the 26-year-old veteran. In October 2011, Lonergan was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, a condi- tion that develops after a person is exposed to traumatic events. Lonergan said it is hard for him to focus and communicate because of the condition. Graduate student Nicole Bengston serves as a counselor and resource in the Veterans and
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student veterans. One of the resourses is the Veterans Ser- vice Organization. Coordinator Jan Nordin helps veterans select classes and make sure WKH\ KDYH WKH SURSHU SDSHU ZRUN ¿ OHG In the Veteran’s lounge in the library, men and women are welcome to relax amongst for- mer service members with years of experience. “Even though most of us never deployed with each other, we all hangout like a big fam- ily,” Lonergan said. “We all look out for each other. We are like brothers from different mothers.”
Service Members Lounge and said the process of returning service men and women is not easy because every individual is different. “In the military, you are told to something and you need to do it,” Lonergan said. “In col- lege, I see a lot of laziness and complacency. It is hard for me to maintain my individuality when I see people doing the bare minimum.” Veteran’s Remembrance Ceremony Lonergan said that he has to keep in mind Lonergan attended the ceremony to honor that not everyone he encounters is a veteran. local veterans on Nov. 11 which was highlight- He said he could talk to someone about the ed by gun salute and a performance by the First military for a week and explains everything he Brigade Band. The student speaker and veteran, Ryan Hale, won a Purple Heart in 2011 after being injured in Afghanistan in a vehicle explosion. Hale said he was proud of the oath that he took wasn’t the same to serve his country. Ryan that graduated “We did what we did and do what we do for you and our families,” Hale said. high school. Each speaker honored and recognized all I was a different Ryan. soldiers in time or war and peace. Chancellor Richard Telfer said currently I was a soldier. more than 320 veterans or family members Ryan Lonergan, are enrolled at UW-Whitewater. He said the student veteran university will remain committed to veterans because they have always been committed to knows, but in the end there still will be ques- citizens. tions. UW-Whitewater allows veterans prior- “Everything I have done and continue to LW\ UHJLVWUDWLRQ DQG IRU ¿ YH \HDUV KDV ZRQ WKH do requires me to explain myself,” Lonergan Military Friendly School designation by GI said. “It is not a burden, but it makes me think Jobs magazine. This is awarded to the top 15 before I speak.” percent of colleges and universities who do the He said all veterans struggle with tran- most for America’s student veterans. sitioning, and there are multiple resources to RileyMP30@uww.edu help cope with the transition, especially for
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