Ways to help beyond sending care packages.

• Position: Military Families - Brief article

In addition to sending care packages and greeting cards to military troops overseas, people should reach out to the wives, husbands, and children who remain at home, recommends the director of Indiana's Military Family Research Institute. "Some military families postpone their Christmas celebration and even leave the tree up for months until their family member returns home for a leave or from deployment," points out Shelley Wadsworth.

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"It's important to remember that these spouses and children are also serving while their loved one is deployed. They may not be in a war zone, but they are living through their family member's experiences, and the long-term...