According to the national news across all TV channels today the news is all about the war in Iraq ended. It's officially over and the troops are coming home. Being here at Fort Hood Texas I see plane loads daily coming back home to their loved ones and in some cases, their young children whom they have never seen yet.

Being a vet myself, I know the feeling and especially for those wounded and some that will be looking forward to returning to their jobs while others search for employment after being discharged. Some of them will have enough years of service to retire. Changing livelihoods will take some time to adjust!

My love, thoughts and prayers goes out to the loved ones whom lost a service member in this war effort. By all accounts the troops here feel there is still more to be done for a full closure of this nearly 10 year war and the deaths of nearly 4500 service members of the armed branches of services. Then some 170,000 wounded for life with limbs missing, burns and brain disorders including PTSD will need medical care for life. It has been a very costly war for the United States. I pray we can recover economically and make jobs available and homes to those in need. This is not a time to have our veterans homeless and sleeping on the streets!

All the NATO countries will have their troops returning home as well and I wish them well in their homelands for their return to civilian life and their families too. I can only relate to how it was when I returned from Vietnam in 1970, some 41 years ago where 58,000 Americans lost their lives and many from the same NATO countries.

I pray for the transition of lives back into the homelands and world peace as we still have struggles in countries around the world. As long as differences of opinions exist and can't be discussed properly, there will be conflicts or wars between nations. We need a break with Afghanistan still in full war mode while others have just begun.Fred!