The news that the Pentagon is taking the rare step of reaching into the Individual Ready Reserve shines a light on just how many part-time soldiers are involved in the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, but left in the shadows is what happens when they all come home.

More than 385,000 reservists from the National Guard and the Army Reserves have already been placed on active duty (some more than once) since Sept. 11, 2001. About 156,000 reservists are currently mobilized. Those who have returned could be called back again. The military hasn’t used this many weekend warriors since World War II.

When part-time soldiers come back from war, most quickly return to their civilian lives. But the trauma of war may linger, and the transition can be rocky. The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that one out every six soldiers returning from Iraq shows symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. So along with bearing physical wounds, some bear psychological burdens.

In the past, our country has not covered itself in glory when it comes to tending to these psychic wounds. That indifference may be the reason that many of the 6,000 soldiers interviewed for the study say they recognize their symptoms but are reluctant to seek help. They fear employers and others will view them as weak or damaged goods.

A 1994 federal law forces employers to hold jobs for reservists, but there is little the government can do about how employers treat them once they’ve returned to work or applied for new positions. Many reservists suspect that employers reviewing applications discriminate against them for the same reason women of child-bearing years have been historically snubbed: the potential for taking time off.

It’s true that the sheer number of call-ups has put a strain on businesses. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has asked the Pentagon for more predictability in the process, and the Pentagon should try to cooperate.

But it’s inevitable that wars will cause multiple shifts in plans. Employers should do the best they can to press on in the absence of reservists. And they should recognize that returning reservists need time to adjust, and that it’s perfectly acceptable — and normal, given what they’ve witnessed — to seek help.

Even those who don’t need help face a changed workplace and colleagues who filled in for them and might resent relinquishing their new duties.

War means sacrifice, but that sacrifice shouldn’t be limited to soldiers on the front lines. We should do everything we can to support returning soldiers, not force them to fight more battles.