Ben Leeman with his children Wesley, Georgia, and Aurora in Wiscasset on Friday, June 10. Leeman is using his experience as a veteran who struggled to return to civilian life to help others. (Abigail Adams photo)
After two tours of duty, Ben Leeman, a Bowdoin native, came home to financial insecurity, a divorce, and a series of service-related health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
Leeman sought treatment. He wanted to get better, he said. He was sick of not being who he wanted to be. However, in the process of seeking treatment, Leeman was forced to use his personal and vacation time at work to attend medical appointments.
“It wasn’t right,” said Jessica Chubbuck, a former Edgecomb selectman and one of Leeman’s longtime friends. “Veterans shouldn’t have to use their personal time at work to get treatment for service-related injuries.”
Veterans across the state tell the same story, Chubbuck said – to receive treatment for injuries sustained while serving the country, they were forced to use their vacation time from work. “I thought, if this is the way it is for veterans, we need to change the law,” Chubbuck said.
Ben Leeman with his children Wesley, Georgia, and Aurora in Wiscasset on Friday, June 10. Leeman is using his experience as a veteran who struggled to return to civilian life to help others. (Abigail Adams photo)
Leeman thought Chubbuck was crazy. “You can’t just change the law,” he said.
With the support of several local legislators, Leeman and Chubbuck came close.
State Sen. Chris Johnson, D-Somerville, championed the effort to introduce a bill to the Legislature – partly because it was brought to his attention by constituents, and partly out of belief that not enough is being done to help veterans return to civilian life.
“It’s not easy coming back from war,” Johnson said. With the suicide rates of returning veterans, every effort should be made to make treatment accessible, he said.
The bill, which was introduced in the spring, did not advance out of the Legislature’s committee process, but it was not the end of the initiative.
“I don’t like to hear no, especially when it comes to supporting veterans,” Chubbuck said. “They fought for us overseas. The least we can do is fight for them here.”
Johnson organized a meeting with the Maine Department of Labor, which launched the Maine Hire-A-Vet Campaign, designed to support the employment of veterans, in September 2015.
As a result of the meeting, the Hire-A-Vet Campaign will soon include a veteran-friendly workplace certification to recognize employers with labor practices that support the needs of veterans.
The veteran-friendly workplace certification is set to launch in September, and unions and American Legion posts are already lining up to endorse it.
“It’s very inspiring,” Chubbuck said. “In politics, I’ve never been involved in something that’s taken off so quickly.”
While the official guidelines for employers to follow to achieve the certification are still being hashed out, they will most likely include the ability of veterans to work hours outside their normal schedule to compensate for attending medical appointments for service-related injuries, Chubbuck said.
The idea for the certification had been kicked around since the Hire-A-Vet Campaign launched, said Auta Main, the veterans program manager for the Department of Labor. At the urging of Johnson, Chubbuck, and Leeman, the department began to take a serious look at developing the program.
“It’s really exciting to work with constituents on something so important,” Main said. “We all need to be more aware of the issues veterans are facing.” The veteran-friendly workplace certification is based on the specific needs veterans have expressed, she said.
The guidelines will be presented to the department’s Maine Hire-A-Vet Committee for review with a target launch date of Sept. 1, Main said.
Part of the certification will involve training for employers on the issues faced by veterans, particularly in relation to PTSD, Chubbuck said. PTSD awareness is something people supporting the program “have really grabbed hold of,” she said.
Leeman, a gunner’s mate in the U.S. Navy, first developed symptoms of PTSD after his ship was in a firefight with pirates off the coast of Somalia in March 2006. Upon returning home, Leeman struggled with anxiety, depression, nightmares, and apathy – all while refusing to acknowledge that something was wrong, he said.
After the end of his contract in 2008, Leeman joined the Navy Reserve. He was recalled to active duty in 2012 and deployed to Afghanistan. Leeman served as a guard force commander on the night shift at Bagram Air Base’s detainee center, where he was responsible for the safety and security of 40 officers at the facility, in addition to detainees.
The base took fire on a regular basis, Leeman said. “In the moment, I was good,” Leeman said. “It was afterward that I would break.” Leeman’s symptoms of PTSD soon became undeniable.
Leeman vividly remembers seeing a frog jump after returning to the United States. “I was scared out of my mind by a frog,” he said.
Leeman sought treatment and began to attend group therapy sessions through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “It turned my life around,” he said. Through the therapy, Leeman learned to control his reaction to stimuli. “You learn a frog is just a frog, not a bomb, which was my first thought,” he said.
Leeman credits a friend, Roger Dumont, for connecting him to veterans programs that have aided him in finding stable housing and employment. By joining forces with Chubbuck, Leeman is now working to ensure other veterans receive the support that has helped him return to civilian life.
“I struggled so hard for so long, I don’t want to see others come home to the same situation,” Leeman said.
The veteran-friendly workplace certification is a win-win for employers and for veterans, with the opportunity for employers to save money on insurance, Leeman and Chubbuck said.
In addition to PTSD, Leeman sustained injuries to his knees and ankles, which now require physical therapy. The physical therapy appointments mean lost time at work for Leeman, but they prevent him from sustaining injuries while working.
By enabling veterans to attend doctor’s appointments, employers are promoting the health of their employees and reducing the risk of on-the-job injuries, which could result in workers’ compensation claims, Leeman said.
Most medical appointments are covered through veterans benefits, which also reduces insurance costs for employers, they said.
Chubbuck hopes the veteran-friendly workplace certification will go national. The pilot program, and potential model for a nationwide program, will soon begin in Maine.
