Finding A New Way To Fight
Connecticut Law Tribune
Monday, December 21, 2009
By Robin DeMerril
Combat veteran Ryan Cleckner limped into a local veterans hospital after returning home from service as an airborne sniper and team leader in the U.S. Army’s 1st Ranger Battalion. He had severe hip and back pain and needed a cane to walk. The hospital’s doctors sent Cleckner on his way with a handful of ibuprofen – hardly the treatment he expected as a wounded veteran who served four years for his country.After six years of fighting the system – lost medical records and misplaced disability claims – Cleckner had all but lost hope. Since Cleckner doesn’t shy away from a challenge, he decided to change the system – not just for himself, but for all veterans.
This past fall, the 30-year-old North Haven resident enrolled at Quinnipiac School of Law “so that I may learn how to fight the system in a way that can actually make a difference. I wanted to help veterans fight the [Department of Veterans Affairs] to get the care they deserve and help raise awareness for post-traumatic stress disorder issues,” he said. “I decided the best way to do this was to become a lawyer.”
Once Cleckner arrived at the Hamden law school he saw that there was no organization on campus for veterans. So he and fellow law-school student Brian Gregorio started their own Veterans’ Advocacy Group.
“I approached the Dean of Student Affairs, pitched my idea and was given permission to start the process,” said Cleckner, now the group’s president. “I established the group to support veteran students, help veterans in our community and help educate other law students about veterans’ issues through guest lectures and presentations.”
According to the Student Veterans of America (SVA), a coalition of student veterans organizations on college campuses across the country, there is an overwhelming demand for such organizations. Since SVA was founded in January 2008, it has grown to more than 120 chapters in 36 states and the District of Columbia. According to its web site, more than half a million veterans are currently using their education benefits.
Cleckner said that so far his group has reached out to five veterans at the law school and he hopes soon to include undergraduate students as well. The purpose of the Quinnipiac Veterans’ Advocacy Group is to encourage students to learn about civil-military legal relations, military legal careers and veteran-specific issues, such as disabled veterans’ rights and combat veteran post-traumatic stress disorder, an affliction that advocates say has driven many veterans into civil and criminal courtrooms.
“With two wars going on, it is amazing that veterans are still such an underrepresented demographic,” said 25-year-old Gregorio, the group’s vice president and a former U.S. Army Military Intelligence interrogator/linguist who completed his three-year military enlistment in June. “We have received an amazing amount of support from the students and faculty in the law school community.”
The two men agreed that it was important that help be as easily accessible for those who served their country as possible. For students who are veterans, they believe that help should be right on campus. He and Gregorio also agreed that students who served in the military need a place to get information and support from others who have had similar experiences.
“We felt that as veterans and law students, we had a unique opportunity to assist our fellow service members who may be experiencing difficulties in transitioning back to civilian life,” Gregorio said. “Our primary goal is to reach out to these individuals and let them know that their service is not forgotten and there are those who want to help.”
Even though the grassroots group has just started, things appear to be going well and for next semester there is already a lineup of guest speakers who will talk about veterans’ health, legal and post-traumatic stress disorder issues.
“Our goal is to make Quinnipiac University School of Law a forerunner in veterans’ issues,” Cleckner said. “I want us to do whatever we can to help every veteran.”
Source: http://www.ctlawtribune.com/getarticle.aspx?ID=35868