13,000 Guard Troops Prepare for Iraq

Sergeant First Class (SFC) Earl Smith photographed outside the Pawhuska Armory in Pawhuska, Okla., Monday March 19, 2007. About 3,500 Army National Guard soldiers in four states, including Oklahoma, have been chosen for possible deployment to Iraq next year. Pawhuska is among dozens of Oklahoma towns where units of the 45th Infantry Brigade are located. (AP Photo/Brandi Simons) (Brandi Simons - AP)

PAWHUSKA, Okla. -- National Guard Staff Sgt. Gabe Robinson knows he will be married only a matter of months before he's likely to redeploy to Iraq, but considers himself lucky he's been home since 2004.

Still, he worries about being injured.

"It's always in your mind," said Robinson, 32, who plans to marry in May. "Anyone who says they don't think about that, they are lying."

The Oklahoma City resident is among the 13,000 National Guard troops in Oklahoma, Indiana, Arkansas and an as-yet unspecified state expected to be notified soon that they could be sent to Iraq around the first of next year, military officials say.

"There's always going to be some apprehension out there," said Capt. Brad Hanna, a chaplain in the Oklahoma National Guard who served in Afghanistan. "We're not in the position of making policy; all we can do is be ready to do what we're called to do."

As the body count increases in Iraq, some governors have begun to voice concerns about the military's heavy use of National Guard troops.

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry said the Pentagon is, in effect, reinstating the draft on the backs of National Guard units. Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said redeploying National Guardsmen from his state would be "stretching our citizen soldiers thin." North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said he's worried about morale and readiness.

National Guard deployments also can be hard on some small towns.

Pawhuska, a town of 3,500 people 60 miles northwest of Tulsa, will lose a member of its school board in the next National Guard deployment.

Sgt. 1st Class Earl Smith, 53, works full time for the National Guard at a tiny armory that is scheduled for closure under Pentagon downsizing plans. For him, the possibility of a deployment means his plans for military retirement are on hold.

If the orders stand, he will take about two dozen soldiers to Iraq next year on a security mission.

Members of Smith's unit work at car dealerships, construction sites and factories. One is recently unemployed.