I’ve spent a sizable chunk of my career focused on Iraq. First as an Iraqi linguist and later as an officer in charge of a team of linguists. There is some debate as to whether the returning veterans should be given a parade.

As for me, I do not need one. I do not require a parade for closure or recognition. But I think it would be a positive thing for many of my friends and their families. It would put a period, an exclamation point, on a challenging time in our country’s history. Two cities had opposite reactions to the idea of a parade. First, St Louis:

That was the hope of organizers Craig Schneider and Tom Appelbaum. Neither man has served in the military but came up with the idea after noticing there had been little fanfare for returning Iraq War veterans aside from gatherings at airports and military bases. No ticker-tape parades or large public celebrations.

And then there is the Big Apple:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says there will be no city parade for Iraq War veterans in the foreseeable future because of objections voiced by military officials. . .

Bloomberg says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey and other Army officials “made it clear” to the city “they do not think a parade is appropriate now.”

Despite being in a large organization, the Navy, I love the fact that this is community-run. Any city across the United States should decide if they want to honor the veterans in their own way.