The holiday season can be a lonely time and this loneliness can be even greater if you are away from the people you love. As a matter of fact, any day on a military deployment can be filled by this loneliness. As we have thousands of Americans abroad, or even in the U.S., away from their families and friends, we should reflect on a way to make this time of year a little easier for them.

So how can we show our appreciation? When I was a child growing up at embassies we used to take a plate of food and cookies to the Marines that were standing duty to keep us safe. However, in this day and age, with the terrorist threat, I do not advise driving to any base that you are not well known at to drop off food. What you can do is choose a branch of the service and call the recruiter’s office and ask for the contact information for a deployed unit so you can send a card thanking them for their service this holiday season. If you don’t feel comfortable with that you can go to www.defendamerica.mil/nmam.html and take the 15 seconds to thank servicemen and women via a Defense Department system setup especially for this holiday season. I also advise taking the time to email that link to other people you know so they can do the same thing; I know that none of us like to see mass e-mails but this is worthy of it.

As a serviceman I know how nice it was to hear from the civilian world when I was out doing what I could for the country. These correspondences make people feel like they are out sacrificing their time for people who care for them. Thank you and happy holidays.