By Tom Weber

Military personnel returning home to Minnesota deserve more than just cheers, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Saturday at a luncheon for military families in Rochester.

"Yes, they deserve to have hundreds of people cheering them at the airport," Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said. "But not just balloons. They also deserve jobs and health care when they come back."

Klobuchar made her remarks at the Third Annual Military Sisterhood Luncheon, held at the Minnesota School of Business. The event was sponsored by the southeast Minnesota chapter of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

"I hope you know we have a state that wraps its arms around you," Klobuchar told the wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and other family members of servicemen and servicewomen in attendance. However, those hugs only go so far in securing the jobs, training and benefits that returning veterans and their families need, she said.

"We're going to continue to work on the issue of benefits for returning veterans," Klobuchar said. "We also have to work on the jobs issue. Our returning veterans should have lower unemployment rates, not higher. They put their lives on the line."

To that end, Klobuchar said she will continue to advocate for education and training credits for the skills that veterans acquired in the military.

At the start of the session Saturday, the women in attendance were reminded that, while they might not be in the military, they share in their family member's service.

"You share the experience of those who serve, therefore you are serving also," said Susan Bertram Textor, of Beyond the Yellow Ribbon.

"This is a safe place for you to come and share your experiences with others, because they understand," she said. "Sometimes all it takes is to know there is someone out there who understands."

Among those in attendance was Joy Kliber, of Rochester, a military mom (her son is in the Air Force) and counselor who often works with military families.

"These women here are magnificent," she said. "They have amazing strength. Their families have to mature much earlier. They have to face realities. And they don't have the cushion others do."

When veterans return, they and their families face issues of reunification, Kliber said. After an initial honeymoon period, she said, families endure great stress while trying to adjust to new circumstances.

"A Facebook hug is not the same as face-to-face," she said.

Bertram Textor said Beyond the Yellow Ribbon helped her as a military mother. "I hope we can help you, too," she told the audience. "We want to educate the community on the challenges faced by military families in our midst."