It appears that about 20,000 more American service members will be headed to Iraq and other locations in the Persian Gulf Region in the next few months.  As our nation debates the war and the policies proposed to execute it, many of us also are focused on the most important component of the war -- our troops.

A little more than a generation ago -- when I was on active duty in the Navy -- the American public seemed confused about how it felt about the Vietnam War and the American soldiers in the field.  Those of us who served were blamed for the policies implemented by a number of presidents and members of Congress.  All of us -- enlistees and officers alike -- were seen by many of our fellow citizens as complicit in what some considered an illegal or immoral action in Southeast Asia.

Since the beginning of military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and some places we don’t hear much about, the American public has held fast to the notion that it is acceptable to debate the pros and cons of specific war decisions, while offering unequivocal support for the men and women who have volunteered to serve in the military.

That’s good news to those of us who devote our lives to serving the men and women of the military, and whose only job is to show them that America supports them.  Since the days following the September 11 attacks, the nation has rallied to support the USO in what it sensed would be a quickly expanding operation around the world.

Four years after the start of the war in Iraq, that support continues.  Opinions about the war have changed; some one-time supporters of the war have altered their views; others are uncertain; but they haven’t repeated what happened in the 1960s and 1970s -- they have not blamed the troops.

Of course, they could simply ignore the troops. Happily, that hasn’t happened either.

Since 2003, donors have given money to the USO to help us buy nearly 2 million international long distance telephone calling cards.  Likewise, our volunteers have assembled and distributed more than 1 million USO Care Packages to deploying troops.

Our supporters -- and we rely on the generosity of donors, not government funding -- have allowed us to open three new USO centers in Kuwait, one in Afghanistan and a half dozen new locations at U.S airports.  Each of those centers is a link in a chain of caring that has existed for service members since FDR chartered us in February 1941.  For 66 years, donors -- not the Congress, not the Department of Defense -- have given to the USO to support the young men and women who risk their futures in order to ensure ours.  It’s a great story, but today I cannot help but worry.

Will the public grow so weary of this war that they punish the people who serve in the military?   Or, have they really learned the lesson of Vietnam, and agree to engage in a good, healthy American debate about policy while understanding that the people asked to carry out that policy need to know the country stands with them?

I hope the latter is closer to the truth. For nearly five years I have traveled around the world, visiting troops from Korea to Djibouti.  Some live in fairly comfortable housing, while others live in unimaginable conditions. 

Wherever I meet them I wonder how they do what they do, far from home, family and friends, working 7 days a week for pay most Americans would scoff at.  Whenever I meet them I learn about them:  where they’re from; their wives; their children; their families.  Those of us at the USO -- our staff and about 26,000 volunteers -- see them every day; and for all we try to do for them, offering the comforts of home, we also consistently deliver the message that their country loves them and that we hold them in our hearts.

I have faith in this country to do what’s right by our troops and their families.  I believe in the goodness of this nation and our capacity to continue to understand that some of our best and bravest citizens are serving in some bleak and awful places on their birthdays, wedding anniversaries and holidays.

Our soldiers ask so little of us.  Yet they give so much. All they ask of us is to be remembered and respected for the difficult and demanding work they do.  It’s the least we can do.