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Leesburg Guardsmen bid farewell to loved ones , prepare for Iraq
Tuesday was a long day for those Virginians who had to say goodbye to sons, husbands and fathers.Embraced in a farewell hug, newlyweds Sgt. Matt Dunlap and wife Abbie stood in the hot sun outside of Leesburg's Heritage High School.
Moments later Matt boarded a bus to take him to Washington Dulles International Airport.
"I'm seriously worried about missing this first year of our marriage," Matt said. The couple married in March.
Matt, who grew up on a farm near Lovettsville, is one of 810 soldiers in the 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry unit of the Army National Guard, which left Virginia June 26 for training in Mississippi.
After a few months, the soldiers will head to Iraq.
The 3rd Battalion is made up of six companies, including units with headquarters in Manassas, Woodstock, Warrenton and Leesburg.
The Leesburg Company -- about 120 men -- received notice of the Virginia National Guard's mobilization in February.
Matt and his unit reported to the Leesburg National Guard offices near Leesburg Executive Airport June 18 and spent the week training there. The soldiers entered federal service June 23 and left for Camp Shelby, Miss., June 26.
They will be in active service for the next 13 months in support of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."
The soldiers will train for two to four months at Camp Shelby, before being dispatched to Iraq, said Capt. Dayna Rowden of the Virginia Army National Guard's public relations office.
The 13-month deployment means Matt and Abbie, both 26, will spend most of their first year of marriage apart.
"I didn't think he was going to go over [to Iraq] our first year of marriage," Abbie said as tears glazed her blue eyes. "I guess I'm not afraid of him dying, looking at the casualty reports. ... I just ... I'm really going to miss him a lot."
Looking around the auditorium of Heritage High School during the mobilization ceremony, it was easy to spot the families affected by the recent call to arms of this Virginia infantry unit.
Around the state several other units – including those in Manassas, Winchester, Bedford, Christiansburg, Farmville, Radford and Lynchburg -- participated in similar ceremonies.
For the Dunlaps, the inevitable parting has been the focus of the last month.
"We kind of feel like life's being put on hold until he gets back," Abbie said. "We have all these wedding gifts that we haven't gotten to use ... "
Members of the National Guard used to be referred to as the "Weekend Warriors." But since Matt signed up in December 2001, the Virginia National Guard has served in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Kuwait and Iraq.
"I was thinking, the National Guard ... they're only going to send those guys out if the Russians are invading," Matt said, adding that he joined the Guard so he could stay in his hometown and receive the college benefits the Guard provides.
In 2004, Matt was among 570 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion deployed to Afghanistan. These soldiers returned home in July 2005.
"I didn't really think I'd be going over[seas] twice."
Abbie said she had a misconception about what Matt's role in the Iraqi conflict would be too.
"When I heard he was in the National Guard, I thought he'd be doing all these ... aid things [like after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast]," she said.
This wasn't a foreseen assignment for this unit, said Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman, who spoke at the ceremony Tuesday.
"This battalion was in neutral, having just returned from Afghanistan 18 months ago," he said. "They were not programed to go to Iraq or Afghanistan until sometime forward."
Lt. Col. John M. Epperly, the 116th Battalion's commander, said Tuesday was the beginning of hard times for the soldiers.
"The tough times begin now, with one of the hardest tasks we will face," he said. "We face the task of saying goodbye to those that mean so much in our lives."
But as much as it hurt today, he said, from the moment the soldiers pulled out of the parking lot, they began to plan their return party.
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
Good luck out there and come back in one piece...
Posted by S_Jjacks
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