The Iraq War officially concluded with a ceremonial flag lowering in Baghdad on Thursday, Dec. 15, but Elon University students recognize that, for those in the military, the job is never done.

"With every war it has to start and it has to end," said senior Candice Blacknall. "I think it's wise to remember that the end of the war is not the end of the military's importance. Our mission never ends."

Blacknall enlisted as an Army reservist in 2007 and was deployed to Iraq in 2009 for a 15-month service. As an active reservist, she understands that the end of the war does not mean the military has less to do now.

The military, regardless of being at war, still has an active military stateside, she said. The soldiers' homecoming enables those in the military to take care of their families and take care of things in the nation.

Blacknall said she believes that is one aspect of the military's responsibilities that people sometimes forget.

"I think a lot of times, people don't realize it's not all the troops that go overseas, so you get troops that go over for two or three deployments," she said. "From a families' perspective, (the end of the war) will allow them to reunite with their family and catch up on things that they might have been missing."

Although the Iraq War has ended, sophomore Mary Savarese, member of a military family, knows the military's job is not done. Troops are still being sent to Afghanistan. She said from now on, there will be consistent training and deployments. Soldiers will still go on multiple tours, and they could each last more than a year.

Savarese's father is a Marine Corps colonel and her two brothers are both in the Marine Corps.

"The Iraq War affected my family with many deployments," she said. "My dad was deployed (to Afghanistan) immediately in 2001."

Her oldest brother served in 2006 for nine months. But she said the deployment's effect on her family was not terrible.

"We are very faith-oriented and would pray for them constantly," Savarese said. "We also wrote letters, sent care packages and I even did a service project for my brother's ship. Of course, saying goodbye is the hardest part but saying hello is filled with tears and smiles."

Still, Savarese is thankful that part of the war is over.

"It is always wonderful to see the men and women serving our country come home," she said.