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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