After watching the news over the last couple days, I have to talk about my respect for our military members.  As a military spouse, a clinical social work who works with Veterans, and an American, I need to talk about our active duty service members and Veterans, who are struggling with recent events and encourage people to keep an eye on Veterans around them, and get help for them if they need it. 

During my time, working in mental health at the VA, I worked with Vietnam Veterans, who were still struggling with the idea that the US “lost” in Vietnam.  They would talk about how they were treated when they returned, and the experiences they had.  At times, the stories that I heard caused me nightmares, but never as bad as the reality that the Veterans had to endure in Vietnam, or over the last 20 years as the US has been fighting the war in Afghanistan.

As a military spouse, I lived through deployments, communication blackouts, and fear of where my husband was on the planet.  Although my fears for my husband in the Navy were nothing compared to other units in the Army or Marines, it was still scary.  They were fighting for the greater good, and did their jobs with respect and focus, day in and day out.  They were away from family and friends, but following orders and doing what they were ordered to do.  They did the best they could to support the current cause, with courage and dignity.

History will judge the actions of our leaders over the last 20 years, as it did with the war in Vietnam.  Both Parties share responsibility for the current events and our leaders are just pointing fingers, much like the leaders did around Vietnam, but our service members and Veterans are paying the price.  Our recent Veterans have been received home better than our Vietnam Veterans because of what we have learned since they returned, but they are still in pain.

With the current events in Afghanistan, some of our service members and Veterans may be asking, what was the point.  They lost fellow soldiers, missed events with their kids and families, and gave everything to the cause our leaders sent them to do.  Many may be having multiple responses and the concern is that our suicide rate among Veterans (already higher than the national average)  will increase with Veterans asking “what was the point”.  If you know a Veteran, or come from a military family, please offer support and care to our active duty and Veterans through this difficult time.  They served their country well and they need to be assured they did their jobs well.

For so many service members and Veterans, the last 20 years have been hard.  9/11 is around the corner, and marked the beginning of the end of feeling safe in our country.  As things escalate, help care for our Veterans.  Let them know they did their jobs, and that we are proud of the job they did.  Bring our service members home, and say thank you.  They stood strong when asked to serve, and their dedication means the world to us. Veterans and active duty, were are thankful for your service.