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November 10, 2010

On this Veterans Day lets take a moment to remember and honor our fellow citizens among us at Lane who have served in and returned from a world very different from our own.

In April of 2010, 3000 Oregon soldiers returned from Iraq, and approximately 700 of these soldiers live in Lane Community Colleges service district.  Are we ready to serve them?  Yes, we are, although we can do more.

We do have a Veterans Office with specialized services for returning vets.  Ellen Jones is our main point of contact and lead for this program.  Check out the website at http://2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/va/


Lane has also received a grant from the American Council on Education for the Lanes Integration of Veterans in Education (LIVE) program. Michael Samano is the Director of this program that has been hosting a film series called Veterans Helping Veterans. Films that have already been shown in the series are:  The Best Years of Our Lives (172 minutes), Music Within (94 minutes) The Lucky Ones (115 minutes)

One film remains:

November 16: Lioness (81 minutes)
This is a documentary is about five female soldiers and their post-Iraq stories. Showtime is 2:00 pm in Lane's Boardroom.
(trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUo1yoU9lxs

What more can we do to serve them? A lot, but we can start by developing our cultural competence in recognizing the challenges they face in adapting to normal life; the survival instincts and mindsets that are a necessity in war; the impact of seeing adversaries, comrades and foreign civilians die violent deaths; communication skills and social rules shaped by war and out of step with civilian society.

Finally, I would like to wrap up by remembering those who served in, but did not return from, the world of war that is so different from our own just this month, Nov 2010, as we taught our classes, served our students, enjoyed our meals in the cafeteria, laughed, debated and argued at meetings, the following young people lost their lives:

Robert M. Kelly, 29	Anthony Vargas, 27	Andrew L. Hutchins, 20
Dale J. Kridlo, 33	Aaron B. Cruttenden , 25	Randy R. Braggs, 21
Shane M. Reifert, 23	Jordan B. Emrick, 26	Michael F. Paranzino, 22
Blake D. Whipple, 21	Brandon W. Pearson, 21	Matthew J. Broehm, 22
Jason J. McCluskey, 26	James C. Young, 25	Todd M. Harris, 37
James R. Zimmerman, 25	Andrew N. Meari, 21	Jonathan M. Curtis, 24

To see their faces and read their stories please go to http://tinyurl.com/2e2m36s.

Thats all for now.  Until next time …..

Sonya