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0000017b-35e5-df5e-a97b-35edaf770000Over 70,000 people in Michigan served in the U.S. armed services during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.Michigan Radio’s Beyond the Battlefield series takes a look at how post-9/11 veterans are faring. Beyond the Battlefield features, interviews and online video profiles, exploring issues like employment, entrepreneurship, and reintegration into civilian life. The series also looks at how Michiganders think state and federal governments are doing at addressing veterans' care, as well as the particular struggles female veterans encounter when returning home.

Why do some people get so awkward talking to veterans?

Photo courtesy Russ Dotson

You've heard it before: "Thank you for your service." Maybe you've even said it.

Veterans hear it a lot. And what we've heard from talking with veterans across the Armed Forces is that there's nothing wrong with being thanked. But then the conversation stalls.

What should you say instead? One Desert Storm veteran suggests, "If it were up to me, well wishers would say 'welcome home.'"

Erin Smith, a psychologist with the Veterans Administration Health Systems in Ann Arbor, gave us a few tips on Stateside with Cynthia Canty. Listen to their conversation, "What civilians get wrong when talking to veterans."

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