I work as a therapist for troops and their families. After Sept. 11, my role as a counselor to troops expanded.
As we entered the war to liberate Iraq, we developed our programs around combat operational stress and its effect on mission readiness, and on the spouses and children of our Marines and Navy corpsmen. As the years progressed, I listened to 20-year-olds talk about saving lives and losing lives, and I learned about what was important and what was not.
Console is a licensed marriage and family therapist at Camp Pendleton, Calif.