What I should've said to my students at some point on Thursday:
Don't focus on how you may have it worse than others, nor how you may have it better. Looking at others' fortune in comparison to your own situation can almost always be balanced (or unbalanced) by those who are less fortunate than you. Instead, deal with the reality of your own current situation and overcome the challenges in front of you.
There are those who would say that we've been playing at war this past week; I'd say we've been preparing you for it. The training that you've undergone is only a small taste of what you may face in the future. I hope that it will prepare you somewhat for the conditions you might see then.
Think about what we've gone through and reflect upon it through the lense of reality again; we had stressed to you to react as if the bullets were real. Think now about what cost would have been paid had they been. How angry you were when you had to carry the 'dead' out of the MOUT house! Think of them as actual casualties and how you would've been moved at the sight of their wounds.
Think now of those who have faced those situations. Do something this weekend to remember them. Raise a glass, say a prayer, spend some time in quiet reflection. And then have some fun, and remember them then, too.
Happy Veteran's Day.