In Troop Photos (and a Political Photo-Op, No Less), How Often are we Actually Invited to See Through the Soldier’s Eyes?

In these days of unusually heroic or cozy pictures of war, how often are we actually invited into the soldier’s head, or prompted to see the homefront through the soldier’s eyes?  Besides reminding us how much photo-ops with the troops are as much or more a reflection on domestic politics — especially in an election year, this photo invites us into the serviceman’s mind, and what it means when a soldier relates that, after having been through war, things at home never quite look the same again.

(photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP caption: President Barack Obama is reflected in the sunglasses of a member of the military as he greets people on the tarmac upon his arrival at Charlotte Douglas International airport in Charlotte, NC., Wednesday, March, 7, 2012.)