That’s the thing to do when you lay out the paper on Election Day.

We’ll resist the temptation to make any predictions and observe only that this campaign has been by far the most interesting we’ve ever covered. And although many folks have made the point that it’s the most important one in modern Goochland history and have marveled at the number of candidates that have come forward, the only thing that would have surprised us here is if incumbents were not being challenged after the series of embarrassments of the last few years in the county.

Looking ahead this week draws one’s attention to Veterans Day and the program planned for Friday at Goochland High School. It should be another excellent event, as was last year’s appearance of Medal of Honor recipient Col. Van Thomas Barfoot.

This year Major Kenneth A. Rowe, a B-24 Bomber pilot with the 8th Air Force flying out of Britain during WWII will be the guest of honor. The program is open to the general public and begins at 11 a.m.

It seems especially appropriate to ponder the importance of the nation’s veterans these days, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. As of this writing the current administration has announced that all troops will be leaving Iraq by the end of the year after it failed to negotiate an agreement with the Iraqi government to leave a residual force. Just getting every one out of country, not to mention bringing home the hardware by years end would seem to be a huge undertaking.

What follows in that country remains to be seen and will tell us if the loss of more than 4,000 servicemen and women has been worth the sacrifice.

Today the military faces cutbacks and belt-tightening unlike anything seen since the end of the Vietnam War, the event that led to the creation of the current all volunteer force.

Some observers worry that cuts that go too deep will threaten the very existence of the volunteer force in its current form. And although many think that all citizens should be asked to contribute to the defense of the nation through some form of National Service, it seems unlikely that anything similar to the draft system of the past will ever be reinstituted, barring a conflict of huge proportions.

So care should be taken in this era of consolidation in the military to avoid the cuts that seem to inevitably come when an era of conflict winds down, cuts that can leave the nation unprepared for the next military challenge, which always comes.

This Veterans Day, let’s vow to take care to maintain a volunteer service and a system of pay and benefits for active duty and retired military that will ensure its viability into the future.