Town braces for change as Guard unit readies for tour

[unhappycamper]

Spc. Jobel Barbosa holds his youngest daughter as his girlfriend, Regina Ward, holds his arm at the National Guard Armory in Hamlet, N.C. His unit is preparing for another tour.


Town braces for change as Guard unit readies for tour
By Kevin Maurer and Mitch Weiss, The Associated Press

HAMLET, N.C. — Christian Tyler knew exactly how to get ready for her first day of school: She slipped into her uniform, poured a bowl of Apple Jacks and plopped down on the living room couch to watch cartoons and wait for her dad.

The 9-year-old knew nothing about what was to come next.

Christian’s father, Jobel Barbosa, is preparing to leave home this month to train for a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

"I’m scared," she said softly. "I don’t want him to go."

There are roughly 100,000 members of the National Guard and Reserve on active duty, weekend warriors who leave home to fight on battlefields half a world away. In 2009, they will include the 76 soldiers of Company E, 120th Combined Arms Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=59599