All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from the past year about the year that was, and what they foresee in the year ahead. Today we're having a conversation with our friend Kristen Rouse. Rouse is a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard, and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan. She returned from her most recent deployment two weeks ago.

During the long, dusty convoy from my base in the mountains of Paktya province, Afghanistan, to Bagram Airfield, it never occurred to me that I’d be returning to the emotional moments of my first deployment here.  This is what I am thinking about this Memorial Day here in Afghanistan.

Hot on the heels of a recently-released report in which Afghanistan commander General McChrystal said the U.S. mission in Afghanistan "will likely result in failure" without calling up additional troops, President Obama hit the talk show circuit expressing concern about sending more troops. How are these mixed messages playing out for those about to be deployed?

Kristen L. Rouse is a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard and recently found out she would be deployed for a second tour in Afghanistan. Mary Galeti's husband Russell is also soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. They join us with their thoughts on the continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan. We're also joined by Larry Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defense under Ronald Reagan and now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a senior advisor for the Center for Defense Information.

President Obama stops in Phoenix today to address the annual convention for Veterans of Foreign Wars. Washington Examiner reporter Julie Mason gives us a preview of what they can expect to hear from the president. The Takeaway also speaks with Kristen Rouse, 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, along with Bruce Smith, who served in Vietnam as a Naval Petty Officer.

The Takeaway is hosting a roundtable discussion of what health care reform should look like. Todd Zwillich, The Takeaway’s Washington correspondent, sets the scene for the president's press conference with his analysis of the political issues. Then The Takeaway's panel discusses their own wishes for health care reform. Joining today's conversation are Dr. Peter Ubel, physician and behavorial scientist at the University of Michigan, Kristen Rouse, 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, and Akin Mckenzie, a visual display artist.

Tonight President Barack Obama holds a prime time press conference. The main topic is likely to be health care reform, but topics such as unemployment, the economy, and Afghanistan are all likely to make an appearance. Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner joins The Takeaway to preview the presser. The Takeaway is also joined by Dr. Peter Ubel, physician and behaviorial scientist in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Kristen Rouse, 1st Lieutenant in the Army National Guard and a Veteran of the War in Afghanistan; and Akin Mckenzie, visual display artist

“We lost Pena.” The words went through me like a lightning bolt, and the moment I heard them is frozen in my mind like a photograph: me, standing next to my desk in my supply office at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Lieutenant Rod standing next to me, the green rubber flooring, the plywood walls. It was there in my office, on the hot, dusty afternoon of June 14, 2006, that I learned Sergeant Roger P. Pena, Jr., had been killed in action.

We were nearly halfway through our year-long deployment, and we had already witnessed at least a dozen “Fallen Comrades” ceremonies at Bagram. For each ceremony, an announcement is made over the post-wide loudspeaker for all available personnel to stop what they’re doing and report to the main drive at Bagram Airfield. Humvees pass slowly down the drive, carrying the fallen troops in flag-draped steel caskets. Hundreds of troops salute as the fallen pass by on their way up to the flightline, where they are then loaded into airplanes for the journey home. These ceremonies unfortunately were commonplace. But we took them very seriously each and every time.

Sergeant Roger P. Pena, Jr., was assigned as one of two medics from my company on a logistics convoy team supporting offensive operations in Helmand Province, one of the most volatile areas in Afghanistan. As they moved through the vicinity of Musa Qala, the convoy fell under heavy attack and Sergeant Pena was fatally struck in his vehicle. He was 29 years old, from San Antonio, Texas, and was survived by his devastated parents, his loving wife, and their two little boys. This story maybe seems commonplace after years of persistent news of the conflicts, with over 680 troops killed in Afghanistan and over 4,300 killed in Iraq. But it was unique to the 92 soldiers in my company. ...(more)

In honor of those who serve, The Takeaway talks to current and former servicemen and women to ask what Memorial Day means to them. They remember fallen comrades, pay tribute to the living and talk about the need to look forward.

For more, read Kristen Rouse's blog post, I Will Always Remember You

Kristen L. Rouse served in Afghanistan in 2006 and is a member of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

I remember being at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in the fall of 2006 and seeing Jeremy Wilson outside our camp's mailroom, heartbroken over what he'd just received in a package. Jeremy pulled out a small box and showed me the diamond ring inside. "She sent it back," he told me, choking back tears. He was clearly devastated. His fiancée had sent him back the ring he had given her, with a short note of explanation. She couldn't live anymore with him being away, and his being indefinitely committed to the Army. Jeremy's contractual end of service date had been September 2, 2006, and he had already deployed once to Afghanistan. But in the fall of 2005, everyone in our active duty unit was extended until May 2007, regardless of contractual end of service date--which meant that most of us were stop-lossed for a few weeks or months. For Jeremy, stop-loss meant ten full months that his civilian life would be put on hold, and that he would be deployed for a second tour in Afghanistan.

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In an attempt to quell the fighting with Taliban militants, the government in Pakistan's embattled Swat Valley has agreed to allow the extremely conservative Sharia religious law to become the law of the land. When former Army Supply Sergeant Kristen L. Rouse heard that news she was very concerned. As someone who had served along the Afghan border and seen the brutality of the Taliban against people, even children, who violate the religious strictures she decided to speak out and write a letter to the New York Times. She joins us now as does Christine Fair, a senior political scientist at The Rand Corporation and an expert in Pakistan security issues, to discuss the latest developments in the Swat Valley.

Read Kristen L. Rouse's Op-Ed piece, The Children of Asadabad in today's New York Times.