I had the great honor of speaking to an Army Special Forces unit this weekend in Springfield, Massachusetts. I have spoken to groups at Harvard, Stanford, Duke, and other top universities, but I have never addressed as important an audience as these warriors. I'm certain that some of the students I've addressed over the years will make history. These guys are making history right now. Some of the soldiers have experienced three deployments to Afghanistan since 9/11. With the president's troop surge, they will endure yet another deployment sometime next year. My sense is that the public grasps how hard it is to be a soldier. What often gets overlooked is how hard it is to be in a soldier's family. Deployments transform stable families into single-parent families for months at a time. Parental duties normally shared are shouldered by the stateside parent when the soldier is deployed abroad. Shoveling snow, driving the kids to swimming lessons, grocery shopping, and other formerly shared tasks singularly fall upon the soldier's spouse. It's difficult, and the prolonged separations often lead to permanent separation. A study released late last month showed that the divorce rate in the military has skyrocketted since 9/11. The grim casualty figures remind us of the obvious cost of war. Missed in all this is the terrible price so many American families pay. This past year, more than 500 servicemen and women lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. More than 25,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines lost their families through divorce.

"It's difficult, and the prolonged separations often lead to permanent separation."

In my conversations with veterans, I'm always surprised to learn that many return from war to unfaithful wives and girlfriends. Any woman who cheats on a deployed soldier should be shot. To put somebody through that trauma while they withstand the hardships of war is beyond words.

Sixty-eight years ago today, our nation was brutally attacked by Imperial Japanese forces and most of our Pacific fleet was annihilated killing thousands of American heroes.

It's a cosmic irony that today our left wing government puts on trial three brave American sailors who as members of the Navy's elite SEAL teams did the job that they were trained to do at the request of that same government and will face prosecution and possible incarceration.

Isn’t their job hard enough? WTF is going on in our nation?

dAN, YOU BEING A ANTI WAR PERSON, DID YOU TELL THESE BRAVE MEN THAT IN YOUR EYES THEY ARE WASTING THEIR LIVES FOR NOTHING?

Whatsa matta wit dat?

If that is what opposing ill-considered wars means, tagand bag, then former-Governer Bush is "guilty" of sending that very same message to the troops when he first ran for president, because of his (right) opposition to Clinton-Gore nation-building in Haiti and Somalia.

Dan, great post. We should also never forget the many businesses destroyed and careers ruined of national guardsman who have been shipped overseas to fight on foreign lands, against their original charter. My dad is a former reservist and guardsman, and this fact gets him seething mad.

Dan,

Thank you for addressing our unit's Christmas Party. Our wives and families appreciate the public acknowledgement of their silent sacrifice. As a veteran of several combat deployments, I can report that we are well equipped and ready to accomplish our assigned missions on the ground. I am frequently asked what can be sent as a "Care Package" to comfort soldiers. The only thing that soldiers really want is intangible. They want to know that their families are cared for while they are away and that the inevitable damage caused by their absence is not permanent. Military families have a mental toughness that is difficult to sufficiently describe. Traditionally, Army Green Berets have been called "Quiet Professionals", my wife and the wives of my Green Berets are the true "Quiet Professionals". Thanks for letting them know that, I received plenty of positive feedback from those in attendance.

Semper Fi

MAJ Houghton
Commander, SF
C/1/20Th SFG(A)

My husband and I are currently in our third deployment, as this is the third Christmas we have spent on the phone. So, today I was reflecting on this sacrifice, as the children are getting older and are now more aware of their Dad's absence. True, as you point out in 'A Soldier's Sacrifice', this war has put strain on our marriage, but we have weathered through the rough times and know that the small sacrifices we as a family make add to the greater strength of our Country. It is this knowledge that has given us a higher purpose to drive on when times are bleak. More challenging, as it has become evident during this third deployment more so than the previous deployments, has become dealing with the day to day backlash I seem to be getting toward the fact that my husband is once again deployed. Maybe people are 'bored' with the war?!!? (if they even remember it still is happening), or perhaps the influx of anti-military cinema is spear-heading the casually disrespectful sentiment I'm beginning to notice from daily encounters. I just saw "Avatar" and although fully entertained by big hollywood FX, the obnoxiously obvious overtones were too much....I just felt the 3D effect shoved it down my throat that much harder (come on!)... I refuse to see "Brothers". It seems that hollywood is once again banking on anti-military genre. Unfortunately just at a time when we could use a little morale, in the 'dog-days' of this war, when it has gone on long and our husbands and wives are repeating deployments every other year, and the strain on our households is the greatest. Where's 'The Duke' when we need him?