By Ken Serrano

@KenSerranoAPP
Agifa Constable jiggles
a bottle of anti-anxiety
pills so fiercely it sounds
menacing.
The 34-year-old Iraq War veteran
stalks through his Sayreville garden
apartment, pops the cap and throws two
pills in his mouth.
Im rattled, he says, his body visibly
tense, his movements sharp and erratic.
Constable served as cannon loader on
an M1A1 Abrams tank, spending 17
months in combat in Iraq before it ended
for him 10 years ago.
I was an iron soldier, he says. I was
trained 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 battled
post-traumatic stress disorder, like
more than 200,000 other U.S. veterans
who returned with the condition from
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Con-
stable has severe PTSD based upon
multiple traumas during combat, ac-
cording to a report submitted to a judge
by 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 Constable
with 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.
About
this series
The Asbury Park
Press this week
examines the
emotional and
physical toll the
decadelong
wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan
have taken on
returning veter-
ans.
Express your opinion
Visit veterans.APP.comfor videos, an interactive chart on PTSD, more stories and to comment on veterans issues.
See PTSD, Page A10
THE IRON SOLDIER
RETURNING HOME: LIVING WITH PTSD
CHAPTER 1
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06.15.14
VOLUME 135
NUMBER 142
SINCE 1879
ADVICE E11
BUSINESS AA6
CLASSIFIED D1
LOCAL A3
LOTTERIES A2
OBITUARIES A18
OPINION AA4
PUZZLES E9
SPORTS C1
WEATHER 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 street
from the Union Hose Fire Company 1 on Saturday
morning with tears in his eyes, as rows of firefighters
along Florence Avenue saluted the firetruck carrying
the 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 is
very hard. Were such a tight-knit community and for
this to happen and (superstorm) Sandy, its been tough.
He was a lovable guy and he was a true gentleman who
wouldve done anything for you.
Local residents and thousands of firefighters from
across the state gathered on Saturday morning for the
funeral cortege for Meyer, 54, who died at the scene of a
fire 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 cardiac
arrest.
Fallen firefighter remembered for heroism, service, unselfishness
By Brett Bodner @brettbodner
See MEYER, 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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