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In Iraq, Ethan Dean came face to face with war’s brutality.
He counseled terrorist insurgents in Iraqi prisons. One of his good friends was killed in combat.
Yet Dean’s visits to Iraq convinced him that many soldiers are especially vulnerable immediately after they return home.
He believes many U.S. military veterans aren’t getting the mental-health help they need to transition from active military duty to civilian life.
“You turn in your weapon, and hours later you’re on a plane home,” Dean said. “There’s no decompression to our society.”
Just weeks home from his most recent tour in Iraq, Dean wants to establish a transitional center for returning veterans in his adopted hometown of Winona.
Dean, an Iowa native, believes the center would be one of the first of its kind in the country.
The idea emerged for Dean during his three tours of duty in Iraq, where he also trained Iraqi police recruits for the Department of Defense.
His assignments often required that he work closely with U.S. military personnel. Because of his background in the mental health field, Dean said, soldiers often approached him with concerns about themselves or other troops.
Many were particularly concerned about making the transition back to civilian life, Dean said.
“The trauma of seeing your comrades butchered — they’re not recognizing that,” Dean said. “You put up a wall and a facade, and you’re tough because you have to be. But once you get that downtime, it all crashes in on you.”
Dean said returning veterans can access inpatient counseling from federal sources or seek assistance from private outreach groups. But he hasn’t found a center that provides short- and long-term residence and counseling for returning veterans.
Dean envisions a facility where 30 to 40 soldiers could stay for a few days or for six months — until they feel prepared to re-enter civilian life.
Besides room and board, they would receive counseling and anger-management training plus instruction on nutrition and physical fitness — all free of charge.
The price tag for such a facility, Dean acknowledges, isn’t cheap. He estimates he would need roughly $6 million over a five-year period to fund the center.
“We spend that in five minutes in Iraq,” Dean said.
After applying for nonprofit status, Dean has pursued corporate and private sponsorship for the proposed center, dubbed “Welcome Home of Winona.” He’s established links to area veterans groups and has lobbied federal lawmakers for grant assistance.
Dean said he’s especially driven by memories of his friend, Sgt. Christian “Moose” Wilson. Three days after Dean last saw Wilson, the soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
“In some ways I’m doing this for him,” Dean said. “This is going to be the house that Moose built.”
To helpEthan Dean did three tours of Iraq training police and counseling prisoners for the Department of Defense. Now back in Winona, he’s seeking support for a proposed transitional residence center for returning veterans.
If you’d like to help — by volunteering or through in-kind or monetary donations — call Dean at (507) 993-1342.
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