Backdraft, what it mean to support the troops

War has a profound effect on veterans, even when far removed from the battlefields. Much like an oxygen-starved fire exploding through an opened door, the intense burn ignited in combat operations abroad returns a backdraft of social challenges to the home front. The explosive, but often forgotten, effects of battle can be seen on the faces of veterans and their families. Backdraft is a multimedia project probing individuals’attempts and the efforts of veterans’ peer organizations to contain the backdraft of conflict. Most of Backdraft was photographed, from 2005 to 2010, in California, which, with more than two million military veterans, has the highest number of any of the states. The essay critically explores the long-term consequences of America's military endeavors on its veterans, and illustrates the profound story of what it truly means to support the troops.