[Georgia Kroese/105th Personnel Detachment Commander] I think it's really a shock. I don't think anybody really wants to go to war, as much as they do to really keep the peace and truly feel like you're protecting people.

[Tobias] Tonya Schwanke, a 21-year-old Wayne State College student.

[Tonya Schwanke/105th Personnel Detachment] I knew it was a possibility. I didn't think this was going to happen.

[Tobias] And Gary Eckhardt, a 55-year-old state employee and father of two from Hastings.

[Gary Eckhardt/105th Personnel Detachment] Most of them said I was too old for this. That was the first thing, oh, they wouldn't take anybody your age.

[Tobias] Young and old...men and women...from cities and farms...different backgrounds, different interests, different reasons for joining the guard.

[Gov. Mike Johanns] Today we are here to send off another group of Nebraska's finest, the 105th Personnel Detachment.

[Tobias] They have one thing in common: a mission that may take them to the Middle East for up to a year. It isn't easy for anyone.

[Johanns] We all acknowledge the line of work you have chosen does require much sacrifice. We see that all around us today. And it requires much heart. I look out across this crowd and I recognize that you will be separated from a loved one for a period of time.

[Tobias] They didn't go far. Fort Riley, Kansas - dubbed America's Warfighting Center - was the first stop for the 105th and thousands of other army guard and reserve soldiers called to active duty for Operation Enduring Freedom. Here they go through more training - like learning how to treat battlefield injuries. They take apart a truck that's too high to ship overseas.

[Kroese] We're preparing all of our equipment to be either flown overseas or shipped or however the order comes down. In the meantime we're painting vehicles, getting everything out of the vehicles, loading up storage containers, making sure that we meet all the requirements to get them loaded properly for shifting and all that kind of stuff.

[Tobias] And they kill time in less-than-ideal conditions. Just how large is Operation Enduring Freedom? Fort Riley is so packed that this gym is where two Nebraska units are sleeping.

[Kroese] I personally didn't realize how many people don't lift up their feet to walk at night. Shuffle across the floor. They put a plastic mat down so it kind of adds to the noise a lot. And everybody has a digital watch that beeps a certain time.

[Tobias] With one- and four-year-old kids at home, Kroese's no stranger to a little noise at night. Working 14 to 16 hour days at Fort Riley hasn't kept her mind off home.

[Kroese] My four-year-old daughter decided it's time to come home. So she doesn't have that concept of time, but she knows that mom's not there. So that's been hard on her. She doesn't really understand it, and that's a good thing too.

[Tobias] Kroese joined the guard in 1982 to pay for college. She made it her career - Kroese's now the Army Guard's financial manager. The unit she commands - separate from her day job - could soon be making ID cards and processing paperwork in the middle of a Persian Gulf battle zone. They won't know for certain until they leave Fort Riley.

[Kroese] We may not know specifically still what our mission is, but we know we're going. And that just really sets in. Nobody can say they don't have any fear, but, yeh, I'm fearful.

[Tobias] Many of the younger soldiers in the unit also joined to help pay for college. But they view deployment from a different perspective. 19-year-old Tonia Goeden of Hartington is taking education classes at Southeast Community College.

[Goeden] I'm really excited. I think this is, like I said, a really good opportunity. I'm really anxious. I want to go see whatever we're going to go see. I'm really excited.

[Tobias] Tonya Schwanke's dad and grandfather were both in the military. Now she's on hiatus from studying business and criminal justice at her hometown college in Wayne.

[Schwanke] I'm excited about going. It's an opportunity that otherwise we'd never have in our lives.

[Tobias] The younger soldiers seek advice from Eckhardt. After all, he has kids their age. And he's seen action before, serving in the Navy in the 1960s. He rejoined the guard in 1991.

[Eckhardt] Desert Storm kicked up about that time, I just kind of thought, patriotic duty, if I can get back in. So I came back in the guard at age 43. And I've been back ever since.

[Tobias] You could say it's in his blood. Eckhardt's father fought in World War II. His wife and two daughters understand that it's an important part of his life.

[Angie Eckhardt/Gary's Wife] One thing about Gary, he's always been very proud to serve his country. So this is something that if this is what was expected of him, this is what he'll do.

[Tobias] That doesn't mean it's easy on those left behind. In Hastings Angie, Brandy and Chelsie look at photos from recent trips to visit Gary in Fort Riley. 18-year-old Chelsie knows her dad will miss an important milestone in her life.

[Chelsie Eckhardt/Gary's Daughter] The worst part is he'll miss my high school graduation, which means a lot to me.

[Tobias] Chelsie keeps a button with her dad's picture on it close to her side. 23-year-old Brandy wears one of the yellow ribbons she made for family and co-workers.

[Brandy Eckhardt/Gary's Daughter] It's going to be odd not having him say, hey Brando, come sit down, at Christmas time. And that's going to be hard.

[Tobias] It's especially hard on Brandy because she supports her father, but not military action against Iraq.

[Brandy Eckhardt] I haven't believed in it from the very beginning, and I don't honestly believe that it truly has anything to do with September 11th. But when my dad called me that morning I was really angry. Just like, now you're taking my dad.

[Tobias] For Angie there are practical matters. Like taking care of the checkbook, something Gary used to do. More importantly, there's the loss of a companion. The husband of three years she'd sit with on this couch, relax and watch TV on a normal Sunday evening.

[Angie Eckhardt] Just that I really do miss him. It's way too quiet around here. You just take it day by day. That's all you can do. Just hope that it's not that long.

[Tobias] Eckhardt's cubicle at the Nebraska Workforce Development Office in Hastings also sits empty. A temporary worker will take over his job - helping military veterans find jobs, among other duties. Co-workers say having him gone isn't easy.

[Tom Bartell/NE Workforce Development] I'm getting a little misty-eyed just talking to you here. He has great repertoire with the veteran population. It's just almost like, if Gary's not here, we can't do business.

[Tobias] Eckhardt would happily trade his cot for his cubicle. Like others we talked with in the 105th, he rather not go to war. But soldiers aren't policymakers.

[Eckhardt] I think all of us would like to not see any American casualties or anything like that, so hopefully they can solve it another way. But if not, I think most everybody is prepared to do whatever mission that we're going to support and whatever.