After 10 years of wars and repeated deployments, mental health statics on America's soldiers have seen dramatic rises in suicides, domestic abuse, and drug and alcohol addiction. Suicides among active-duty soldiers jumped from 138 in 2008 to 162 in 2009, according to the most recently available Army statistics. Cases of spousal abuse and child abuse or neglect almost doubled between 2004 and 2009. And referrals for alcohol and drug abuse rose from 15,000 in 1999 to 22,500 in 2009.

We continue our conversation with veterans about what they expect to hear from President Obama in tonight's speech on Afghanistan, and how they think the strategy will play out on the ground. We speak with Jack Jacobs, retired Army colonel and professor of politics at West Point; National Guard Spc. Marco Reininger, who served in Afghanistan in 2008; and retired Army Sgt. Genevieve Chase, founder of American Women Veterans, who served in Afghanistan in 2006.

President Obama will make a major announcement tonight from West Point Military Academy, outlining his plans to raise troop levels in Afghanistan. The New York Times reports the president has already issued orders to send thousands of additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan, raising the number of U.S. forces there to around 100,000.  Tonight's speech is expected to include a timeline for U.S. involvement in the region and give the nation some idea of how he plans to pay for the war. The Takeaway talks to three veterans of the war in Afghanistan and asks what they want to hear from the Commander in Chief.

Maj. Adrianne Dicker Kadzinski is in the Army reserve. She served in Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003, and she currently sits on the advisory board of the Rebuilding Afghanistan Foundation, which focuses on education there. Ret. Sgt. Steve Husong served in Afghanistan in 2002 and 2003. He's the host and producer of a television program that is currently in the works called "Redeployed." And National Guard Spec. Marco Reininger, who served in Afghanistan in 2008, is a spokesman for the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Maj. Kadzinski says the U.S. owes Afghanistan a substantial, long-term presence focusing on rebuilding economic and social structures. Ret. Sgt. Husong wants President Obama to trust the generals who advise him, relying on their military experience to make up for his lack. And Spec. Reininger says whatever the President's decision, the country must be prepared to take care of returning veterans.

Marco Reininger, specialist in the New York Army Reserve and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, joins us as we review our listeners' responses to the ongoing war there.

A message from the Taliban is being heard almost everywhere across Afghanistan. It's from a militant denouncing the evils of the Afghan government and its corrupt officials. The message says that if the Afghan people want justice, only the Taliban can deliver it. For more we go live to Afghanistan, to Martin Patience, Kabul correspondent for our partner, the BBC. We also speak to Christine Fair, from the Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University; and Spc. Marco Reininger, spokesperson for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the U.S. sending troops to Afghanistan. To help mark the occasion we get the personal stories of three veterans of that war: Joe Sturm, Marco Reininger and Genevieve Chase.

On Oct. 7, 2001, President George W. Bush announced that the U.S. military would be making strikes against al-Qaida targets and Taliban strongholds in Afghanistan. By November 2001, the U.S.-backed military alliance had taken Kabul. By December 7, the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar had fallen. Eight years later we are still there. There are currently 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, and 869 American lives have been lost since the beginning.