COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A war over, the Army heeds Congress’ demands to cuts costs by paring its ranks. But the nation’s economy is weak, and unemployment rates are high. It’s an uncertain time for thousands of service members and their families.

Sound like today? It’s a scenario that has played out previously when big conflicts end, most recently two decades ago. What’s happening now as the Army, the biggest military branch, carries out plans to shrink by 80,000 troops in the wake of the Iraq War resembles what soldiers went through in the early 1990s, when the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union prompted the U.S. to trim the military for what was called “the peace dividend.”