Thoughts on Veterans Day from some of the many veterans studying and working at UAA

UAA has many staff, faculty, students, alumni and campus administrators who have served the country in military service. In honor of Veterans Day 2015, we asked several veterans around campus-staff, students and faculty-if they would be interested in sharing a few details about their military service and also how they think about Veterans Day each year.

Before we go there, please check out our archive of active duty military images provided by veterans in the UAA community over the course of several years. In addition,  note that the Student Veterans of UAA will hold a fundraising bake sale on Veterans Day from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Student Union. Drop by and support them.

You'll also find collection boxes for a campaign UAA student veterans are participating in to gather warm clothing, sleeping bags and necessary items for homeless vets. You can read more about the effort below. In the Student Union, find the collection box near the Military & Veteran Student Services Office on the ground floor.

Now, to the thoughts of veterans in our UAA community when November 11 comes each year:

Eric Bortz, professor of biological sciences U.S. Army 1995-1999 Reserves through 2003

Dr. Bortz entered the service right after completing his bachelor's in chemistry from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and before he went on to graduate school. After his time in the service, he studied molecular biology at UCLA and did post-doctoral work at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

He joined the Army during the Clinton years, working as an intelligence analyst and serving on a peacekeeping mission to the Balkans. He said the lessons and skills he learned in intelligence agency work translated very well into his work on infectious diseases: He learned how to approach a difficult problem, for example, and how to lead a team effectively. Today he is a part of a global network monitoring flu outbreaks with the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenisis (CRIP). He also teaches immunology at UAA.

"In many respects [joining the service] was one of the best decisions I made in my life," Bortz said.

His own grandfather served in World War II and fought in the civil war in Spain against the Franco regime. His parents were Vietnam War protestors. Bortz chose to enlist. "Military service is a complex thing," he said. "I reflect on it every Veterans Day. It's not a simple sort of narrative."

He strongly affirmed the value of military service and how it influences our everyday lives.  "In some sense, it makes all this [our endeavors at UAA] possible," he noted.

Maggie Fitzgerald, nurse practitioner, Student Health and Counseling Center U.S. Air Force 17 years of service

Originally from Portland, Maine, Maggie was a clinical nurse in the Air Force and served in a variety of locations, including New Mexico, Japan, Mississippi and Texas. She even left the service once, but felt the hole and returned: "I missed the Air Force life," she said simply.

Among her best military memories were the educational opportunities the Air Force provided her. She fondly remembers her time at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, a big teaching hospital. She also appreciated the tangible way that the military supported her education.

"I got my first master's through a program that the Air Force sponsored," she explained. "You go to graduate school, they pay your tuition and pay you whatever salary you are at. I think that was a very generous opportunity for which I am proud and grateful."

Maggie is also a UAA alumna, earning another master's, this time in nursing science, in 2007. She was practicing in the Mat-Su Valley when she saw UAA's job opportunity and applied to work on campus.

Of Veterans Day, Maggie thoughtfully reflects:

"I don't think of myself as a veteran. I am very proud of my service. I got a lot out of the Air Force in so many ways.

"But when I think of Veterans Day, I think of World War II veterans, and I think of my brother, a Vietnam War vet. I think about how they really gave more than their pound of flesh. I was in the service during certain campaigns, but I never served in war zone or during a bonafide declared war.

"So on Veterans Day, those are the people I honor."

Gary Lytle U.S. Air Force 10 years Active Duty 12 years, Reserves

Gary's tenure in the military dealt with becoming an expert in electrical systems-everything from lights in base facilities and parking lots to safely lighting runways. He also worked in "barrier maintenance," an airfield safety feature much like that deployed on aircraft carriers. Think of a hook dropping down from the landing aircraft and catching a cable hydraulic braking system. He also has worked on high voltage distribution systems.

When he retired, he was the electrical systems superintendent for the 477th civil engineering squadron. He retired as a senior master sergeant EA.

Guess what he's studying at UAA? Electrical engineering with an emphasis on power delivery. He's also working toward a minor in mathematics.

As a freshman at age 44, he already knows a lot about the areas he's studying. Still, earning the degree is important to him and he has ambitions for a career in high voltage power delivery. Meanwhile, his wife, Laurel Foster, is still on active duty with the 176th security force squadron.

Gary participated in the Student Veterans Association of UAA effort last weekend to raise necessary items for homeless veterans. He and other club members walked the neighborhood of Rogers Park with their military rucksacks, inviting donations of warm clothing, sleeping bags and other necessary items for the homeless.

Learn more about the Stop Talking, Start Walking campaign for homeless veterans at this Facebook page and at this website. The campaign lasts 22 days, in honor of the 22 suicides committed each day by American military veterans. The student veterans organization has a box for donated items in the hallway outside UAA's center for Military & Veteran Student Service on the ground floor of the Student Union. Although food is welcome, warm clothing and sleeping bags are needed.

Of Veterans Day, Gary has these thoughts:

"For me, it is a very important day. I wish society as a whole would lean more toward recognizing it. We get days off for certain holidays; I think we should be given the day off for Veterans Day so that more people would participate in events.

"My Dad and many of my uncles were in the military. My late grandfather-in-law was a World War II veteran. Myself, I was a veteran of the Cold War era, Desert Storm and two deployments to Iraq for Operation Enduring Freedom.

"Veterans Day is close to my heart after seeing all the people I have had to work with and knowing their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families."

Shellie Flores, family nurse practitioner, UAA Student Health and Counseling Center U.S. Air Force 7 years

Shellie Flores remembers the moment she knew she would serve. She was on a recruiting trip with a fellow nursing student from college. Her friend was considering the U.S. Navy, and Shellie went along for a look-see.

Shellie never joined the Navy, choosing the Air Force instead. But the scene she saw on that trip catalyzed her.

"It was this giant tennis court in Langley, Virginia. It had been converted to an air evacuation staging facility," she said. She got a glimpse of the focused response to caring for injured soldiers. "I knew then that I wanted to help these people, I wanted to be involved."

She eventually joined the Air Force and served in Mississippi and Alaska. "The more I got into it, the more I felt honored to be a part of it," she said. "I liked what the military stood for, how they took care of their own and each others' families. It was a worthwhile life."

She deeply loved the Air Force; "I would have been a lifer!" she said with enthusiasm. But as it turned out, her husband was finishing college and going back into the military. This was the time of Desert Storm, and if two parents were in the military they both deployed. She and her husband didn't both want to be away from their children. The choice was a tough one, but Shellie left the service.

Her thoughts on Veterans Day: "I don't think of myself. I was never in a war zone. It just wasn't a factor in my time. I would have gladly gone.

"But I definitely think it is a time of reflection for veterans: what they gave up to be in, how their service has changed their life forever, especially our veterans in the last 10 years. It's a time to reflect on this."

Brendan Stassel U.S. Marine Corps 5.5 years

Brendan was born in Boston but grew up in Anchorage and graduated from Dimond High School. Today, he is a junior in computer systems engineering and also vice president of Student Veterans of UAA. Both his grandparents served in World War II and his mother served in the National Guard. He started UAA as a 17 year old, but quit to join the military. "It was a mixture of getting out of Alaska and also I felt like I needed to get away from my childhood and grow up into being an adult," Brendan said. "Joining the military, I could do that, but also give back to my country and do it in an honorable way."

In the service he worked as a data systems operator in IT, work that evolved to include radio communication, satellite and network computers and printers. He trained at Camp Pendleton north of San Diego, California and deployed to Afghanistan twice. He's especially appreciative of that second deployment. "I was incredibly happy to extend myself. I went out with a really good group of guys. I felt like we really made a difference, that I had made a contribution."

His thoughts on Veterans Day are unique: he thinks too many people confuse Veterans Day with Memorial Day. "People aren't clear on the difference. It's really important. It's a very big difference when you serve and come back home again." He says he tends to identify with his own cohort of veterans more than thinking of World War II or Korean War veterans.

"I will say I don't regret for one second that I joined the military and the Marine Corps. It has helped me become who I am today. It set me up for success. I don't see myself failing at whatever I do. And that has had a lot to do with my experiences in the military. Not the hardships, but the real-life lessons I learned. Now I am at school, focused and ready to take on my classes. I can reflect back.  I have struggled before. This is nothing new."