JORGE REYES “The hardest thing for me was computers. I joined the military in 1997 and from 1997 until 2007 technology has changed dramatically, while the only thing I learned during those years was how to clean my M-16 or how to mount up a 50-caliber machine gun.”

AARON GLANTZ You're listening to “The War Comes Home, warcomeshome.org, a project of KPFA Radio. I'm Aaron Glantz.

The headquarters of the TELACU foundation rises off the south side of Olympic Boulevard in the heart of East Los Angeles. Founded in 1968 as a series of not-for-profit companies to bring vitality to the run-down, mostly Latino, section of Southern California it is home to one of only 44 programs in the country that helps veterans return to college.

32 year old Jorge Reyes Jr. is one of its students. Trained as a machine gunner, he served 10 years in the army and had considered a career in the service. But when a commanding officer asked him to re-enlist during his tour in Iraq, Reyes had second thoughts.

JORGE REYES “I called my mom on the satellite phone and I told her and she just yelled at me and told me I was crazy, and it was funny because while I was on the phone with her a couple of bullets whizzed by my ear and I don’t know if that was an omen or a sign or what, but later that day I told my commanding officer that I didn’t want to do it.”

GLANTZ Reyes said commanding officer told him to “think it over,” but the “signs” kept coming. At the time, he was working as a rear gunner on humvees sent on patrol in Diyala, Najaf, and Baghdad

REYES “On my way out, on my last day there a RPG (rocket propelled grenade) shattered our Chinook (helicopter) and it just missed us,” he said. “I was like, fuck, on my last day in Iraq I almost get blown up and it was just a week before that that twelve people were killed in a Chinook.”

GLANTZ Reyes had to have reconstructive knee surgery after his first tour in Iraq, but he considers himself lucky. Four soldiers in his division were shot in the head and lived. One of his closest friends was blinded for life.

REYES “You see these things and movies don’t even come close to what it is to be there, but it’s those kinds of things that make you understand that there’s more out there for you.”

GLANTZ Still, it was difficult for Reyes to get on with his life after a decade in the armed forces. He said he had become addicted to the rush of battle and become used to the camaraderie of the service.
His first year out of the army he didn’t even return to the United States, instead he hung out in Germany near a US military base where he became romantically involved with a Russian immigrant.

REYES “I really did feel like I needed to get my head straight and it helped. And then I came back here and didn’t do nothing again. Maybe not lost but just trying to get it together.”

GLANTZ Finally, Jorge Reyes tried to return to school. But it wasn’t easy.
REYES “The hardest thing for me was computers. I joined the military in 1997 and from 1997 until 2007 technology has changed dramatically, while the only thing I learned during those years was how to clean my M-16 or how to mount up a 50-caliber machine gun.”

GLANTZ He also had trouble relating to the other students. At 18-20 years old, most of his classmates were a decade younger than him. They had not been to war, had not been in the military, and their lack of discipline grated on him during class.

REYES His break came when a girl-friend introduced him to the Veterans Upward Bound program after getting a scholarship from the TELACU Foundation.
There, he found a friendly atmosphere of fellow veterans, and teachers who taught him computer skills and helped him brush up on the material he learned, but forgot, from High School.

“One thing that I like about this program is because you’re with veterans – you could see it in their eyes who’s a veteran and who’s not. We have this distinct look in our eyes. You can see feel it. When you’re here and you’re learning. It goes back to how this program helps us. We can relate. It’s a step forward. It helps it out. I know if not for this program. I still would feel lost in college.

GLANTZ With the help of TELACU and Veterans Upward Bound, Jorge Reyes is now passing his classes at Glendale Community College and is planning to transfer into a certificate program in gerontology at the University of Southern California or California State University, Los Angeles. In the meantime, he’s working as a site manager for Casa Maravilla senior center in East LA – on the job experience he hopes will prepare him for his post-military career.

You’re listening to the War Comes Home. Warcomeshome.org, a project of KPFA Radio. I’m Aaron Glantz