Dear Next President,

Hello, my name is Malik Spearman and I go to Henry Sibley High School in West Saint Paul. First I would like to congratulate you on winning the election. It was a very tough election, but I’m glad you came out on top. But the real reason why I am writing this letter is because I feel like the soldiers that protect us every day are not getting in return what they deserve.

Americans have volunteered to go into the military branches (Army, Navy Seals, Air Force, etc.) for 43 years, and we now have 1,354,532 in those organizations. So I think that our soldiers should be able to visit home more often or the tours should not be as long. For example every 3-5 months the soldier should get to come home and visit his family for 6 months. So then he can still be connected to his or her family. Also the soldier will remember what a regular life is like and he will not only know what it's like to be in the battlefield. Of course there are some soldiers who do not have a family or want to be in the battlefield for a long time. So I think the soldiers should sign a sheet of paper and say how many months they want to be gone.

Some soldiers have tours up to 4 years. They can miss so many things in those 4 years, such as the birth of their kid. Imagine that missing the birth of your own child, coming home and he/she doesn’t even know who you are. Or maybe the soldier is traumatized and doesn’t remember what a regular life is like, and they come home and they are not the same anymore. I have uncle who was in the army for 15+ years (not consecutive) and he missed countless special events like Christmas and Thanksgiving. He even missed his son's wedding, and his grandson's birth.

According to NBC News one eighth of soldiers come home with PTSD. I think if they come home more often we could lower that to one in 24. Normally soldiers are home for 6-18 months. But I think if they come home more than they don’t have to stay at home more often. Also the soldiers will have a smaller chance of dying in the battle field if they are home more.

Maybe you are concerned once people go home they won’t go back. Well you can still put on their resume that they went AWOL. Also you would be able to instantly stop giving them money and other benefits when you are in the army. For example if you're a officer and you go home, you don’t come back in the time you were supposed to you get one last pay check and then after that you stop getting all benefits.

So that’s my issue. I hope you or one of your workers reads this and takes it consideration because this really is a big deal I feel. I also feel that the soldiers would like this new law. But anyways congratulations on winning the election and I hope you make America great, but I feel like this would help.

Sincerely,

Malik Spearman, 10th Grade

Saint Paul, Minnesota