Welcome home
Bath VA hosts soldiers back from Iraq
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

Bath VA personnel applaud soldiers of the 222nd Military Police Company from the Hornell Armory, as the VA Thursday prepared to host the company for a day-long series of events that included benefits counsel and a buffet luncheon.

BATH - When James Oliver graduated from Hammondsport High School in 1997, the prospect of a college education appeared mildly interesting.

On the other hand, joining the U.S. Army seemed a lot more interesting.

"I was too much of a hellion," th e 29-year-old Hammondsport resident said Thursday, wearing military fatigues on the campus of the Bath VA.

Oliver enlisted in the Army after graduating and served until 2001. He subsequently joined the National Guard and in October 2007 finished a one-year tour of duty in Iraq.

Now the idea of a college education is getting more interesting.

Oliver visited the VA as a member of the 222nd Military Police Company from the Hornell Armory.

The VA hosted Oliver and the rest of his company to introduce them to the numerous veterans' benefits to which they are entitled after a tour of duty in Iraq. Benefits include, Oliver said, fully paid tuition at any state college or university of New York.

Soldiers from the 222nd Military Police Company prepare for a buffet lunch at the Bath VA Thursday.

"This day has been pretty informational," Oliver said.

Members of his company received physical examinations and a hot buffet lunch, plus counseling on the wide range of benefits, health care services and employment opportunities open to veterans.

Maj Gen. Joseph J. Taluto, adjutant general for New York state military forces, called the VA event "an excellent example of National Guard soldiers taking advantage of veterans services." The VA, he added, is a "terrific complement" to the National Guard's own programs for re-introducing soldiers to their homes and families following an extended services overseas.

James Oliver in particular found the programs useful. "Wouldn't that be great?" he said after learning his benefits would cover the cost of a SUNY education.

And with a year in Iraq behind him as a member a military police company, he has a clear idea of what he'd like to study in college.

"Criminal justice," he said. "Law enforcement."