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IF all goes according to plan, by the end of the year, 10,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan will be home with their families — and their memories. As many as 20 percent of them will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression, while suicide rates have reached tragic new highs among veterans.

Tonight, I watched as time stood still. Battle hardened men and women wept. Tears of sadness. Tears of anger. Tears of pain. I watched as three pairs of boots stood in flawless formation on a land far from home. Dusty, still, yet no soldiers stood to fill them. Three helmets atop three rifles inverted upon their bayonets, representing each branch of service that lost a service member — Army, Navy, Air Force. Dog tags hung motionless, occasionally swaying in the gentle breeze that blew across the tarmac as if to remind us that these heroes will never be forgotten. In the background, airplanes could be heard taking off. The mission continued. The Battlefield Crosses stood to memorialize the ultimate sacrifice paid by our fallen soldiers. Read more »

Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lanier has entered what he calls the "vast unknown." A combat veteran and father to four daughters, he can't remain in the military because of a serious back injury earned in Iraq. Read more »

Staff Sgt. Nicholas Lanier has entered what he calls the "vast unknown." A combat veteran and father to four daughters, he can't remain in the military because of a serious back injury earned in Iraq.

Two local elected officials are touting their efforts to help veterans find work in a tough job market. U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis are both speaking out about the employment situation for veterans. Read more »

Two local elected officials are touting their efforts to help veterans find work in a tough job market. U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm and Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis are both speaking out about the employment situation for veterans.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, is in Afghanistan as part of a congressional committee delegation and attended a battlefield memorial for the troops killed in last week's Chinook crash in Afghanistan. Read more »

-- U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla, is in Afghanistan as part of a congressional committee delegation and attended a battlefield memorial for the troops killed in last week's Chinook crash in Afghanistan.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Marine Sgt. Joey Jones begins his day like most everyone else, getting dressed for work. But before he picks out a shirt, tie, belt and pants combo, he must assemble the bottom half of his body. WATCH THE VIDEO: http://timesfreepress.com/videos/2011/aug/07/5717/

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Marine Sgt. Joey Jones begins his day like most everyone else, getting dressed for work.  But before he picks out a shirt, tie, belt and pants combo, he must assemble the bottom half of his body. VIDEO (MUST WATCH)