I was driving to a nearby town this morning to go to a farmer's market, and suddenly saw a fire truck, police cars, and motorcycle escort all with their lights on. Following was three charter buses. I suddenly realized that this was the latest deployment (there have been several) of our area National Guard. And so many individuals are getting deployed over and over again. All of the cars were stopping, and I suddenly found myself crying and wondering how many of these troops would make it home without physical and emotional injuries or worse. I also thought about their families that were left behind at the armory

We are getting more Iraqi war vets at school and we are not equipped to really help them.

I'm crying with you, Barb.. When will it ever end. How could we let ourselves get tangled up in this eeeeendless Mid East War.

We just had a group return here and another one deploy. They rotate in and out of here all the time. We also have a big AF installation close by.

It is hard to watch them leave but it is good to see them return.

Godspeed on their safe return. We have one in Air Force in sat com or one of those coms and we are not privileged to his whereabouts, sucks either way I hope they can get our young soldiers out of this real soon

It's the over and over again part that really wears on you. I know some Marines are on their 3d tour or more. That's tough. And it's really tough on the families.

Every time I see a notice that another soldier's lost his/her life overseas it just rips me apart. I think about their families, their friends, everyone whose life they touched who will think of them and feel the loss of them. And my heart goes out to them.

A couple of my friends have experienced the death of someone they know. One soldier took his own life, one was KIA by an IED, another was shot.... I'm so fortunate that my best friend made it back in one piece. His good friend didn't. And I felt my friend's pain from the Sandbox. My first thought was that I was happy it wasn't him that had died. My second thought was horror that I was happy someone else had died and not my best friend. The things you wrestle with--survivor's guilt.

I was standing at a very small airport waiting to put a friend of mine on a flight when I saw a young woman talking to a young man with a military haircut. They were holding on to each other. As they got up to the security checkpoint, they stopped and held each other. They were both trying so hard not to cry. She stepped aside and he went through. As he walked away, she started to cry and you could see his shoulders shaking. The leaving part is tough. The waiting every day for them to come back is tough. And the homecoming is sweet. But for those who have lost someone.....

Grace is Gone. If you've been through a leaving of someone you love, you will feel this movie cut right to your heart.

I was lucky not to see uniforms at my door while my best friend was away. Others are not so lucky. So far the youngest I've seen killed was 18 and the oldest was 60.

Most of them are just babies.

I watched Grace is Gone last weekend. It was well done, but pretty tough to watch.

I know . my best friend's husband's unit (in wisconsin) were 're-called' to return to Iraq for another 18-month tour ... he's been home just over a year from the first tour ... he leaves this month.

Sometimes I wonder if the draft were reinstated, and not just volunteers to the armed forces were over there, would we as a nation stood up and said, "end this war now?"
Yes, we all know or hear of someone who has a loved one over there, but the families/communities that are affected is relatively small...
just a point to ponder...

i'm sorry for your community barb.
i'll say a prayer for all the men and women going to war.

hopefully in a few months, with the election of a new president, some of them will start coming home.