Dear World

Dear World,

Please take note of our return. Give us a hero's welcome, regardless of whether or not we feel we deserve it. Shake our hands, give us a hug, let us know that we were missed, that we are wanted, that we were cared for, that we are welcome.

Please take us back into the fold. Help those who are seeking for work find it. Do not look at our job applications, our resumes and think that we have no "real world" experience. Some of us have more than you think. Have you changed the popped tire on a rather large semi truck trailer in less than 30 minutes? Have you had to discuss and compromise when the lights will turn out in the barracks? Have you ever taken a weapon away from a tearful comrade, and then sat and talked to them? All of these are very real world experiences, no matter how mundane -- do not brush them away lightly. Help those who are trying to further their education work the system. Remind us of deadlines, refresh us on procedures, point us in the right direction. Resist the temptation of thinking that we are someone else's problem. We are not a problem, but we do need your help. And when we call you Sir or Ma'am, know that we mean it. Help those who have left their families behind reintegrate, no matter how big or small, how traditional or not. We left behind our spouses, our partners, our parents, our grandparents, our aunts and uncles, our siblings, our nieces and nephews, our cousins. Things have changed. Teach us, show us these changes. Please give us time to readjust. Calm us when we wake up in the middle of the night screaming, listen to our stories, have patience when we become frustrated with life at home. Know that we missed you dearly, and no words can ever explain that feeling.

Please help us heal our wounds, obvious or not. Do not linger on scars, on missing limbs. On the other hand, don't handle us with kid gloves when we need your help -- we will not shatter. A kind word and a good conversation can go far and mean more than you imagine. Remember that some of us have seen things that you could only imagine. Know that some of us have had nightmares or have cried ourselves to sleep. Be mindful of how a fireworks display or a door slamming shut can make us think that danger is near. We are human, and we are not invincible to all of the hurts in the world.

Please respect us, whether you agree with what we do for a living or not. We are important to someone. We have lives, jobs, families. Some of us volunteered to leave home, some of us did not. There is no difference between the two groups -- we went, we did our duty, we served our country. There are many of us who signed on the dotted line before September 11, and plenty who took the oath afterwards. Refrain from claiming that we should have known what we got ourselves into or calling us cold-hearted killers. Open your mind and try to imagine what our day-to-day life is like -- or better yet, ask us.

Do not forget us. We haven't forgotten you.