I can offer you my personal experience. I commanded a battle group in Kandahar in 2009. There were 1,300 men and women under my command. When I came back from Kandahar, during that summer, my band council organized a ceremony on my behalf. I was handed an eagle feather by the chief of my band council. All the elders who had seen me growing up in my community were there. It was extremely warm and extremely supportive.
Obviously, everybody might have different opinions. There's a good story that MWO Greyeyes may want to share with you, the one we discussed this morning.