Rizzo's field-artillery unit, pressed into service as provisional military police, came home last year with 23 Purple Hearts, 17 Bronze Stars - and a lot more "processing" to do.
Nearly 40 percent of the 180 members sought counseling, New Jersey officials said.
Nationally, at least 35 percent of Iraq veterans received mental-health care during their first year home, according to a Pentagon survey of more than 222,000 returning Army soldiers and Marines since 2003.
Across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, military, state and federal veterans organizations are aggressively encouraging Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to get help with posttraumatic stress disorder.
New Jersey this year has more than doubled the amount to treat the disorder, allocating $800,000, which supplements federal aid. An additional $200,000 is likely to be sought next year as the needs grow, veterans officials said.
Calls to the state's 24-hour hotline rose dramatically after 1,700 soldiers returned in November and December. Five hundred calls came in during the first six months of operation last year; more than 400 were logged in just the first three months of this year.
Pennsylvania, though it has no separate fund for posttraumatic stress treatment, is closely tracking returning troops and making them aware of the vast safety net of federal and state veterans programs.
After a steady increase at the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans account for more than 20 percent of all veterans being treated in its posttraumatic stress disorder program or on a waiting list, VA officials said.
Nationally, veterans advocates have called for more spending on mental-health care for returning troops. President Bush's budget proposes a 6 percent spending increase for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
