One day after arriving back at their armory in Fort Worth, about 90 Texas National Guard soldiers enjoyed a "freedom salute" Wednesday morning.

Soldiers slapped each other on the back, received service awards and chomped on Texas barbeque donated by a V.F.W. post.

It was time for joyful family reunions and painful separation from colleagues they've bonded with in Iraq for the past nine months.

A major general thanked them and told the crowd: "It is time to acknowledge the sacrifice all these soldiers have made in serving their country."

A recent report by the Rand Corporation defines the depth of sacrifice.

It found about one fifth of returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from major depression or post traumatic stress disorder.

The report also cites a "largely unmet need for psychological services."

In Iraq, Chaplain Chuck Wallace, a major in the guard, was often the counselor serving by their side.

He says the transition to civilian life can trigger problems.

"It's a difficult thing to manage," Wallace said. "I was talking to a soldier and he said the last time he came back he went to a 4th of July fireworks thing, and ended up crawling under his pickup truck."

At home, soldiers might seek help from the VA.

Now there's a new option for troops and their families and it will cost them nothing.

Operation Healthy Reunions is managed by Brooke Knox of the Mental Health Association of Tarrant County.

"They can get up to 12 free sessions with a qualified professional that has knowledge about their needs," she says.

The program is so new the brochures aren't even out yet, but Knox says it's already helping soldiers.

"Some of the things we're already working with are P.T.S.D. and depression," she said.

The Mental Health Association of Tarrant County launched the program with a large private grant from the Dallas Foundation.

A similar effort also began recently in the Dallas area. It covers 10 counties. The Tarrant county program covers five.

"We're a community agency. They're coming home to our backyard. We want to be able to help," Knox says.

It's the kind of sentiment citizen soldiers can relate to, but Chaplain Wallace says they don't always relate to treatment.

"They don't want to be viewed differently, that they have an issue. That's one of the things I want to help them understand. It's normal to have some of these issues, so it's normal that you get some help with that," he said.

He says Operation Healthy Reunions sounds like a win/win for troops and their families.