Adjusting after tour of duty

Jeff Memmer, a senior in the Kelley School of Business, was an electrical submarine nuclear propulsion plant operator of the Navy 688I fast attack submarine. \nMemmer spent most of his six years of service in the Persian Gulf, where half the time, there was a conflict.\nWhen he arrived at IU in the fall of 2002, Memmer realized the federal G.I. Bill, which was first passed in 1944, didn't cover nearly as much as he had expected. Half of his expenses, including tuition, weren't covered by the bill. And the 27-year-old veteran wanted to do something about it.\nMemmer, who founded the Military Veterans Students Society at IU, is trying to reform current state funding policies that don't offer substantial veteran benefits for in-state education, he said. An Indiana veteran grant that Memmer is proposing would cover tuition, club tests, a portion of health fees and benefits soldiers would normally receive during active duty. The proposed program would target members who served active duty and maintained Indiana residency throughout their military career. \n"What Jeff is proposing will have a huge impact on future young veterans," said Rachel Davis, a graduate student and current president of MVSS. "With a great system in place, veterans will have a sense of pride in returning to Indiana for school. A program like this gives them an incentive to come back here."\nMemmer remained president of the organization until this month, when he handed the position to Davis, a navy nuclear machinist mate on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier. \nThe organization consists of undergraduate and graduate students, and was designed to help young veterans transition to college life and network with other veterans. It is also a place for members to come with questions regarding financial aid and housing and to meet people who have experienced similar situations. \nMemmer's main goal is to bring awareness of the needs and contributions veterans have provided to their communities.\nMilitary veterans returning to school or starting school for the first time have different needs than students who have not served in the military. The transition from a strict military environment to more laid-back college life is often difficult for returning students.\nSgt. Michael Morrow, a senior radar operator who traveled between Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul and Kirkuk, has made the transition from Iraq to IU as a freshman this semester. The change was a challenge for him, as well, as the dramatic adjustment from daily military duties to school work, he said. \n"It's just knowing what to do without being told to do it," Morrow said. "It's hard to know what to do with yourself when there is nothing to do. You have to have your mind framed to do something for yourself and not a greater purpose, like the military." \nDuring his time in Mosul, Morrow and his fellow soldiers went around to the merchants to make sure they had everything they needed to do business, and eventually the entire city had turned around, he said. \n"We helped improve the city and the way of life in Mosul, and it ended up being better off after our help than it had been before we got there," he said. \nMemmer said spending so much time on a submarine allows one to return with a deeper appreciation for smaller things one usually takes for granted, like driving a car.\n"On the submarine there are no windows to look out of or roll down, and there is no wind in your face. Now, whenever I drive, I roll down the window and stick my arm out," he said. \nMemmer said regardless of the situation, each veteran returning to school has something to contribute.\n"You have a lot of real-world experience coming in to school and you bring qualities that others would not be prepared for," he said. "Instead of going out and immediately getting a job, many are passionate about what they want to do and are willing to take the financial risk of coming back to school and getting a degree." \n-- Contact staff writer Julie Nevolo at jnevolo@indiana.edu.