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Omaha World HeraldSnipers, mortar attacks, roadside bombings. The soldiers from the Nebraska Army National Guard's Troop A, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry survived it all during a year in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, Iraq. Last summer, the soldiers came home. After a quick round of medical exams and paperwork, they were back with families, back to regular jobs. But scars remain as some soldiers struggle with problems afflicting thousands of Iraq vets. They fight post-traumatic stress and lingering brain injuries. Some abuse alcohol. Others seek out danger to revive the excitement of combat. For the past year, The World-Herald has chronicled seven soldiers' return to civilian life. This week, we're sharing their stories.
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GRAND ISLAND, Neb. - When Joel Hestermann returned after a year in Iraq, counselors at the Army's Camp Shelby, Miss., warned him to get help.
They told Hestermann that he had gone through too much combat to step straight back into civilian life.
They also wanted Hestermann, 33, to stay at the base to undergo a more thorough medical examination of a recent shrapnel wound.
But after a year in Ramadi, the National Guard staff sergeant and Grand Island police officer had had enough.
"All of us said no," Hestermann recalls. "Everybody was ready to go home."
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