8/12/2019 Asbury Park Press front page Sunday, June 15 2014
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By Ken Serrano@KenSerranoAPP
Agifa Constable jigglesa bottle of anti-anxietypills so fiercely it soundsmenacing.
The 34-year-old Iraq War veteranstalks through his Sayreville gardenapartment, pops the cap and throws twopills in his mouth.
Im rattled, he says, his body visiblytense, his movements sharp and erratic.
Constable served as cannon loader on
an M1A1 Abrams tank, spending 17months in combat in Iraq before it endedfor him 10 years ago.
I was an iron soldier, he says. I wastrained to suck it up and drive on.
With his razored Mohawk, prizefight-ers physique and piercing stare, Consta-ble looks ready for combat. But on the in-side, the former tanker admits he is com-ing apart trapped within his own emo-tional armor.
For more than 10 years, hes battledpost-traumatic stress disorder, likemore than 200,000 other U.S. veterans
who returned with the condition fromthe wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Con-stable has severe PTSD based uponmultiple traumas during combat, ac-cording to a report submitted to a judgeby clinical psychologist Mark Siegert.The veteran also suffers from brain con-cussions and amnesia, among other men-tal and physical injuries, Siegert said.Shinbone fractures have left Constablewith a limp.
Of the men and women who receive
Agifa Constable, an Army combat veteran of the Iraq War, during his treatment for PTSD at a Veterans Affairs residential facility in West Virginia. BRIAN JOHNSTON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
6,819 KILLED. 52,037 WOUNDED. AN ESTIMATED 240,000 WITH EMOTIONAL SHOCK.
That is the toll from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the story
of one veterans descent into PTSD and his quest for redemption.
Aboutthis seriesThe Asbury ParkPress this weekexamines theemotional andphysical toll thedecadelongwars in Iraq andAfghanistanhave taken onreturning veter-ans.
Express your opinionVisit veterans.APP.com for videos, an interactive chart on PTSD, more stories and to comment on veterans issues.
SeePTSD, Page A10
THE IRON SOLDIER
RETURNING HOME: LIVING WITH PTSD
CHAPTER 1
Asbury Park Press :: Monmouth Edition APP.COM $2.00
06.15.14
VOLUME135
NUMBER 142
SINCE 1879
ADVICE E11BUSINESS AA6CLASSIFIED D1LOCAL A3LOTTERIES A2
OBITUARIES A18OPINION AA4PUZZLES E9SPORTS C1WEATHER C12
JERSEY GAL IN JERSEY BOYS
FILM OPENS FRIDAY Rene Marino of Linden stars as Frankie Vallis
first wife in the Clint Eastwood-directed movie
version of the Broadway hit about the Four
Seasons. Sunday Best, page E1
U.S. ORDERS AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO PERSIAN GULF AS IRAQ TENSIONS GROW PAGE 4B
UNION BEACH Scott Apel stood across the streetfrom the Union Hose Fire Company 1 on Saturdaymorning with tears in his eyes, as rows of firefightersalong Florence Avenue saluted the firetruck carryingthe remains of fallen firefighter Robert C. Meyer.
Apel was wearing a black Union Hose Fire Company
shirt in honor of his friend.I own Pluggys Too right up the street, and hed
come in two or three times a week, Apel said. This isvery hard. Were such a tight-knit community and forthis to happen and (superstorm) Sandy, its been tough.He was a lovable guy and he was a true gentleman whowouldve done anything for you.
Local residents and thousands of firefighters from
across the state gathered on Saturday morning for thefuneral cortege for Meyer, 54, who died at the scene of afire at HydrAir Inc., 615 Union Ave., on June 8. An au-topsy performed by the Monmouth County Medical Ex-aminers Office determined Meyer died from cardiacarrest.
Fallen firefighter remembered for heroism, service, unselfishnessBy Brett Bodner @brettbodner
SeeMEYER, Page A12
H A P P Y F A T H E R S D A Y !
What readers admire most about their dads. @issue, AA1
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