I’ve watched in pain as we are all learning about Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales’ alleged massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, including men, women and children. The murders are horrific. And so, too, is the reminder of the strains of war and how we view and treat American soldiers, one of my own ongoing concerns. We must mobilize ALL Americans to provide more support to them.

The U.S. has been fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and now soldiers are coming home without adequate supports. I’ve written on this topic before, and I do so here again because I cannot fathom how we allow this to happen. We make soldiers carry the body bags of their dead comrades, and then we make those returning home carry their own baggage of injuries to mind and body filled with unrelenting pain.