DELAND, Fla. — Veterans know all too well suiting up for service comes with sacrifice.
Returning home means carrying visible and invisible scars for many years in post-military life.
SERVICE AND SACRIFICE
“People think a flashback is just a memory — it’s not,” said Retired Army Sergeant Major Ed Rosa of Deland. “A flashback is a feeling like you’re back at that time and place in combat, or whatever traumatic experience it was. You can smell the smell, you can hear the sounds.”
Rosa served nearly 21 years in the Army, with multiple tours overseas. He followed in the footsteps of his family; his grandfathers served in World War II, his uncle and father served in Vietnam. His sons enlisted later on as well. For Rosa, who eventually rose through the ranks within the military’s counterintelligence operations, it meant putting his country before all else, including his family and his own health.
“When you’re deployed a lot, when you’re away from family, you start to unintentionally detach a little bit from family,” Rosa said.
Rosa’s service overseas came in the early 2000s, when America was at the height of war. After returning home, he noticed his signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other physical ailments. He mostly ignored the signs for 15 years until a friend and veteran took their own life. An act Rosa said was a wake up call.
RETURNING TO THE TRAINING FIELD
Rosa is now back on the training field, teamed up with a new “battle buddy.” With 10 month Harley by his side, the Labrador puppy and Army veteran are learning together on how to adapt to a post-military life.
The training is part of a new nonprofit based in Volusia County. Ally Nass founded Command K9 Service Dogs approximately one year ago.
“I started this because I saw the difference in my life,” Nass said. A disabled veteran herself, Nass grew up as a kid with dogs. She joined the Army and got assigned to a K9 unit training dogs for military and security services.
She now trains dogs to help fellow veterans. Nass is disabled because of injuries sustained in the military and developed anxiety from military sexual trauma. Her closest companion is a 3-and-a-half year old Labrador-Catahola mix named “Trump.”
She’s trained Trump to help with just about any everyday task — opening the fridge, retrieving bags, removing socks and shoes, picking up things from the floor, even standing firm to help Nass get up from the ground.
Traits Nass is now helping to teach other soon to be service dogs and veterans.
FINDING HELP AND HOPE
The unique trait about Command K9 Service Dogs is that it pairs puppies and veterans early, where they go through training together.
“It changed my life. My quality of life is nothing like how it was prior,” Nass said. “I still struggle daily with PTSD, and sometimes with anxiety with panic attacks, but my dog makes it so much better.”
Nass said the program helps improve the quality of life for veterans who are often left feeling isolated because of affects of service.
“It’s like the end of the tunnel. I know it’s going to be better tomorrow, and tomorrow is going to be better than today, and the day after that is going to be better, and the day after,” Rosa said. “It’s a great feeling for me to have. I haven’t had in 15 years, so I have this four-legged friend to thank for that.”
Rosa is not only a trainee, but now using his retirement life to help Command K9 Service Dogs earn grants and donations to grow the program. Nass said she has worked with 50 dogs since the program started, graduating 15 so far. Dogs are donated to the group, but Nass said they will need community support to keep going.
Providing resources for veterans remains a critical challenge in the U.S. With 20 million veteran service members in the U.S., nearly 1.5 million live in Florida—the third largest veteran population in the nation.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data shows efforts are improving the physical and mental health of veterans. The number of veterans receiving mental health care from the VA increased 90% from 2006 to 2019, with funding for programs growing in that time from $2.4 billion to $8.9 billion. The VA’s 2021 National Veterans Suicide Prevention Annual Report shows overall veteran suicide is declining, while civilian suicides are on the rise. In 2019, an average of 17.2 veterans committed suicide in the U.S. each day. That includes 553 veterans in Florida in 2019.
Members of Command K9 Service Dogs say this is a critical aspect of their nonprofit. While they team service-dogs-in-training with veterans and tailored to their needs, the program also helps connect veterans to each other, building a support system for one another. If you, or someone you know, need help, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.