"On the American home front during the ongoing war on terror, no one is feeling the pressure more than military families. Operating tempo is expected to increase. Projected deployments are going to be longer. Our presence in Iraq alone is projected to be at least five years. This news means that military families who have been pressed to the limit since 9/11 are wondering just how they are going to keep the marriage together, raise good kids, and maintain some semblance of normalcy. For the past six years, Jacey Eckhart has written a popular column, 'The Homefront,' running twice weekly in the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. Through her work, she is asked frequently to speak to deploying commands, training sessions, church groups, reservists, and retirees. They call her 'The Voice of the Military Family.'
"'It is a job I love,' she says, 'but it doesn't do enough. Every week I get requests for past columns about moving, infidelity, in-laws, kids, deployment, and "that one about geographic bachelors."' Current books written for military families don't cover those topics. They admirably address the nuts and bolts of military life. They tell the least initiated spouse what to call the chief and when to get in touch with Navy Relief and how to sign up for dental insurance. But they don't offer any kind of philosophy about how to live well within the military community. Eckhart's book addresses this need, a need that has grown all the more glaring post-9/11."
