Area for discussion based on Sebastian Junger's Vets Town Hall Project:

The idea behind a Veterans Town Hall is to give vets of all wars a chance to address their community directly and without intermediaries. As a veteran speaking at a town hall event, you will be addressing a crowd that includes everything from close friends and family to complete strangers. But these are the people you risked your life for; these are the people you went to war for. No one goes to war and returns home unaffected. It’s not fair - or healthy – for veterans to be left alone with these burdens. They belong to all of us.

The event should be solemn and non-political. There will be no question-and-answer period afterward. There will be no debate on the merits or justifications of war. There will be no recriminations or accusations. This is simply a chance for veterans to tell the community what it felt like to go to war. Many vets will be incredibly proud. Others will be angry. Some might be crying too hard to speak.  A community ceremony like this will return the experience of war to our entire nation rather than just leaving it to the people who fought. The bland phrase, I support the troops, will now mean showing up at town hall once a year to hear these people out. http://www.sebastianjunger.com/vets-town-hall