Erik Holm | February 14

Newsday - War may be hell, three veterans of the Iraq conflict told college students Monday, but coming home is no picnic either.

The three painted a bleak picture of a soldier's life in the war zone at a forum at Nassau Community College, saying troops still lack body armor, fly in decades-old helicopters and don't have enough Arabic-speaking interpreters to do their jobs effectively.

But they saved their harshest words for the conditions that soldiers face after returning home. They cited a lack of services and compassion -- both in Washington and among the general public -- for high rates of alcoholism, homelessness and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder among the recently returned troops.

Operation Truth: " OpTruth Vets Speak in NY".