by Todd Daigneault

Created on: January 20, 2010

Valentine's Day, Christmas, birthdays-these are awful times for wives, husbands and significant others of soldiers away on duty-especially with two wars and the potentil for more.  What do you get your warrior that says I love you without the loss of intimacy from inspections and great distance?  Pictures are always very good.  A high-quality photo properly encased in something durable, yet pleasing to the eye is good for soldiers on patrol or at the base.  Try and not have something too revealing, as that can cause a loss of intimacy, if somebody else sees it.  But for our brave troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, having something that shows your partner in a photograph can help allay those separation anxieties.

Regular contact through letters and satellite communications is also important.  Six months to a year can be a long time for separation.  If the relationship isn't kept on a strong footing, long separations can lead to anxiety, especially for young soldiers on their first tours of duty.  A steady stream of letters, pictures and cards help pass the lonely hours by much faster, bringing the re-uniting together that much faster.  In the case of Valentine's Day, even something hand-made by both the deployed soldier and his/her significant other will go a long way towards telling each other that they love each other much.  If there are children involved, maybe putting small pictures into the card of the kids will also help the bonds cemented together much more, and keep the relationship.

In wartime, it is especially hard on relationships.  The US has been fighting in Iraq longer than World War II, and in Afghanistan almost as long as the Viet-Nam war.  This doesn't mean that every soldier has been there for years-but many have done repeated tours of duty and are emotionally/physically exhausted from battle, casualties in their own units and possible psychological scars to themselves.  Therefore, love has a much stronger meaning than ever before for our stressed warriors.  They cherish their relationships even more, as a semblance to the real world, and not a world full of enemy snipers, booby traps and IEDs (Improvised explosive Devices)...Even a simple card can go a long way.

But in prolonged combat situations, Valentine's Day is certainly not the nexus of the universe.  Besides the expressed and implied love, there has to be a lot of understanding and tenderness by not only the significant other, but by the soldier as well.  These are trying times for America and the rest of the world at large.  Huge changes are underway in the world, and not necessarily for the good either.  Threats of wider conflict with Iran and other countries, along with the existing wars, continue to put huge strains on the US military-and the relationships of the soldiers deployed in harms way.  A little TLC (Tender Loving Care) is needed by the soldiers and their partners.  Both are worried and anxious about even returning home safe and sound.

Expressing their love on Valentine's day even with a simple hand-made card or pictures is so important for a soldier thousands of miles away from home, fighting on foreign soil.  Jewellry can be a great idea for soldier's significant others too.  It says love.  But even the act of buying or making a simple, yet very much loving gift can speak volumes of their shared love...

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