UAFS student vet gives back through Student Veterans Organization

Editor’s note: Story info and photo provided by the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The journey that led Armando Castro to create the Student Veterans Organization at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith began with an explosion.

The future UAFS student was serving a tour in Iraq in 2006 as a gunner with the Marine Corps, riding home in a Humvee one night with his platoon following days of intense fighting in Fallujah. As the gunner, Castro’s job was to scan his surroundings for signs of improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. His company had caught hundreds of the explosives before, but that day, running on less than 10 hours of sleep in a six-day period, he missed one.

The IED was planted under the street and the road repaved with asphalt to look no different than the night before. It detonated when the Humvee passed over it, tearing the vehicle in half and injuring several Marines in the vehicle, all of which survived. Still, Castro suffered severe injuries on the left side of his body, including torn ligaments in his leg, second-degree burns, and permanent nerve damage.

Castro had arrived in Iraq less than a month before, and he was already heading back home. Upon his return to stateside, Castro struggled finding his purpose. When his wife gave birth to their child, Castro decided to return to school to set an example for his daughter.

CREATING THE SVO
He enrolled at UAFS to study organizational leadership. Like most veterans, Castro kept to himself. Having experienced the horrors of war, he was unable to emphasize with the average college student’s problems. But as he saw other veterans on campus, he realized he wasn’t alone. The university estimates that 500 veterans are enrolled this semester.

“We veterans stick to ourselves, because we’re older and we’ve seen different things. It’s hard for us to relate to civilians’ problems now,” Castro said. “I realized that we needed a group where veterans could get together and discuss our issues.”

So Castro created the Student Veterans Organization last fall to provide networking opportunities for veterans on campus. The group boasts approximately 50 members, most of them veterans, but others are spouses of veterans or civilians simply wanting to support the organization.

“A group like this has been a godsend,” Castro said. “It’s been great to meet other veterans and hear their stories and have a place where we can put our time and effort to make a difference.”

COMMUNITY SUPPORT
In addition to providing an opportunity for veterans to connect, the organization has also taken on community projects. When a local veteran was stricken with an ailment that left him disabled, student veterans renovated his house to make it wheelchair accessible. They have also begun coordinating an annual Color Guard Ceremony, a symbolic event recognizing Veterans Day.

Later this month, members of the organization will march from UAFS campus to the Riverview Hope Campus construction site in downtown Fort Smith, carrying rucksacks with canned goods and clothing. The walk is in recognition of Homeless Awareness Week.

The veteran who struggled to find his place in civilian life has found purpose.

“I just wanted to give back and help people,” Castro said. “And to be able to help out veterans and the community has been great for all of us.”

VETERAN NUMBERS
National estimates are that there are more than 24 million veterans in the U.S., with about 1.9 million of those being from the World War II era and as many as 2.5 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are more almost 10 million veterans age 65 and over.

More than 6,800 American service members have died as a result of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more than  970,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have filed disability claims with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.

There were an estimated 249,274 veterans in Arkansas at the end of fiscal year 2014, according to the VA, with 187,191 of those serving during wartime.