Senior Dave Sutherland was in the first Marines unit to invade Baghdad when the war in Iraq started in 2003.
He saw action from day one - firefights and "skirmishes" - but doesn't care to talk about it, he said.
The Student Veterans Organization on campus is committed to helping veterans readjust to civilian-student life, Sutherland said.
Sutherland, 32, former SVO president, spent six months overseas fighting in the "Sand Box" and still experiences many sleepless nights and recurring nightmares, he said.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think about it over there," Sutherland said. "Sometimes you lose concentration."
Fourth of July fireworks can bring Sutherland back to the battlefield, he said.
"Somebody popping a balloon nearby, or a book dropping - I'll lose it," Sutherland said. "And the smell of garbage. That's what it smelled like in downtown Baghdad."
The SVO has many purposes including functioning as a social network that brings veterans together, he said.
"We understand what the other has been through," he said. "It's sort of a self-therapy kind of thing."
Transfer student Yessica Lupica, 24, knows it's a big transition into civilian life, she said.
Lupica spent four years as an interrogator and Arabic translator for the U.S. Army overseas, she said.
"Some of the experiences veterans have had are very traumatic," she said. "I'm a combat veteran - if you ask someone about it and that's all they say, then that's enough. Let it be."
No combat veteran wants to brag about what they've done, she said.
"In public, we're not going to be talking about it," she said. "Anyone that's talking about their kill count or boasting about anything is full of shit."
Stereotyping is huge, she said. Iraq veterans are often thought of as young, angry, off-kilter, white males.
People don't acknowledge the diversity or realize how many vets are around because they don't realize a veteran can look like anyone, Lupica said.
People also assume vets are all pro-war and conservative, she said.
"We're not," she said. "I've had soda cans thrown at my car in Southern California while I was in uniform. And if I were to react, then I would be fulfilling the stereotype."
People are often unaware about what kinds of questions are appropriate to ask veterans, she said.
"When someone finds out I'm a vet they ask right off the bat if I've ever killed anyone - instructors and students alike," she said. "And they don't realize what a personal question that is, and what a traumatic experience they're asking about. It's like someone asking if you've ever been raped before."
Assuming things about veterans is just as ignorant as assuming things about racial minorities, Lupica said.
"And we're as diverse as can be," she said.
Senior Ian McGilvray, 31, SVO president, was enlisted from 1994 to 2003 and worked as a helicopter crew chief, he said.
Though SVO provides a support network, not many vets come in for traumatic experiences, McGilvray said.
"Generally, the type of alpha male that goes into combat doesn't seek help," he said. "He just wants to be left alone. They don't want anyone to see them as victims. They just want to move on."
The SVO isn't just for Chico State students, said Larry Langwell, SVO adviser and Air Force veteran. It's open to all veterans in the community.
There are more than 200 veterans on campus and the majority of them are 22 to 27 years old, Langwell said.
It's a big transition into civilian life and the SVO is working to make it easier for vets, McGilvray said.
The only campus benefits veterans receive at California State Universities is priority registration, Sutherland said. SVO is interested in getting application fees dropped for veterans.
"Everything is provided for you in the military, then you get out and you're standing on the road with your bags in your hand," Sutherland said. "Getting started is the hardest part."
Each application to a CSU costs $55.
"A lot of us aren't willing to drop that much money on multiple universities," Sutherland said. "And it's not like we can always go to the campus orientations, because we're getting our asses shot at in the sand."
Despite the diverse experiences each veteran has, being vets brings them together, he said.
"A lot of the guys I hang out with are combat veterans," he said. "We stick pretty tight."
Joel Hersch can be reached at jhersch@theorion.com
Related links Student Veterans of America
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