June 03, 2005
Fuck The Troops
Nearly every day he was in Iraq, Army Staff Sgt. Steven Cummings would get so shaken by mortar round explosions that, even now, a year after his return home, he drops to the ground at the crackle of lightning.
Iraq had a big impact on Cummings in another way -- his finances. In his absence, his wife took out two mortgages on their home in Milan, Mich. They fell $15,000 in debt, as the pay Cummings earned during his 14 months overseas was less than he had made as a civilian electrical controls engineer.
Looking back, those almost seem like the good times.
Cummings has been laid off from two jobs in the year since he left Iraq. While other reasons were given for the layoffs, Cummings thinks both were related to his duty in the Michigan National Guard and the time off it requires.
Like some other veterans who have returned from Afghanistan and Iraq, he is struggling to find work.
"I don't know what I'm going to do now. I'm in the exact position I was when I came back from Iraq,'' said Cummings, a father of two. "I'm 50 years old and I have a mortgage payment due. I'm tired of it.''
Posted by Eddie Tews at June 3, 2005 08:03 AM
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