On Saturday while I was waiting for one of the sessions to start I met Dr. Charles Hoge. He wrote the book Once a Warrior--Always a Warrior. I reviewed the book on March 14 and found it more useful than I would have thought for me. I would have thought it only applied to soldiers in direct combat, but there are things everyone in Iraq goes through that Dr. Hoge gives good advice on.
(I can hear some of my friends saying "Going to Iraq for a year can be stressful--this is news to you?!)
Anyway, Dr. Hoge saw my name on my backpack and introduced himself. We talked for several minutes about the book, Iraq, and reading and then I had to run off to move my car which was parked in a 2-hour meter zone.
On the way down to the meeting, I talked to a friend who served was in Iraq last year and is having trouble getting back to the old routine. He has two kids (age 9 and 11) and is having trouble with managing work, family, and all the details. He wants to go back to fixing Chinooks 14 hours a day. If he would read the book I would buy it for him, but reading would just stress him out more. He seems ready to ask for help. That's good news.
