I read a story about the intense strain on military marriages. When a man faces the trauma of war, watching his buddies be blown up, and villages ravaged, it can be overwhelming to reenter family life. There are enormous gaps in the experiences of deployed men and their wives at home, ones that defy passage. Add to that the need to clamp emotions behind a steel trap and it is not hard to imagine the disconnect. 

 

The Command Sergeant Major in this story was highly trained to be covert, to outmaneuver and to execute plans. He had been decorated with seven bronze stars, and performed dangerous operations behind enemy lines. But when he entered his own living room after months in Iraq, he felt lost. His expertise did not equip him to earn the trust of his daughters, or to listen to his wife. His medals did not win back the love he desperately wanted.

 

Having mourned the death of soldiers and civilians, he was faced with the death of his own marriage.

 

He is a hero in his own home.