Guardsmen Are 'Weekend Warriors' No More

G R A N T S  P A S S, Ore., Jan. 4, 2002 -- The bucolic vistas of southern Oregon — moist, green and rural — are a world away from the rugged, dry mountains of Afghanistan or the parched sands of Egypt's Sinai Desert.

"The heat, initially, was staggering for people from Oregon," said Lt. Col. Dan Cameron of the Oregon National Guard. "When we arrived in midsummer, it was touching between 110 and 115 routinely."

But for the 600-plus National Guard troops from Oregon now serving in those remote places, the climate is the least of their adjustments.

"Well, I've been in the Guard a long time," Gen. Alexander Burgin said. "And I think this is, undoubtedly, the most stressful period of time, basically because of the unknown."

As part of the largest mobilization of Oregon Guard troops since World War II, their civilian lives have been drastically disrupted.

"It isn't necessarily a lack of willingness to fulfill our obligation," Burgin said. "It's a matter of, what's tomorrow or what's six months from now? And when can I get back to my school? Or when can I get back to my employer? When can I get back to my community and live somewhat of a normal life?"

‘Weekend Warriors’ No More

There are currently 6,000 of these so-called citizen soldiers on duty all over the world, primarily at posts vacated by active-duty troops now deployed in trouble spots. National Guard troops have sometimes been disparaged as "weekend warriors" because their service time is typically limited.

"One weekend a month, two weeks in the summer, and be able to go to college," Spec. Cole Calicoatt said. "That's what I was looking at, at the time."

But that old stereotype is changing. The National Guard troops from Oregon departed early in 2002, knowing that their overseas deployment would last more than six months. It is now eight months and counting.

When Sgt. John Esch's 1042nd Air Ambulance Company was preparing to leave, his sons broke from the crowd for one last hug.

"He just wanted one last goodbye," said Esch's wife, Susanne. "He didn't know when they'd see him again. I know it was really emotional for my husband."

"A lot of emotions," Sgt. Esch recalled. "A lot of emotions thinking about the future and what it holds. What's going to happen at home?"

Esch is now part of an air ambulance crew in Afghanistan. Back in Salem, Ore., Susanne Esch had to give up her nursing job so she could care for their 9-year-old boy and 4-year-old twins. She leads a support group for military wives and speaks at local schools. And she supports her husband's commitment to his country. Even so, she worries.

"I heard that in one of the locations, every time they flew, they were shot at," she said. "Every time."

Long deployments take a toll on the absent fathers, as well. Capt. Tom Lingle flies helicopters with Sgt. Esch.

"If you look at the entire deployment of probably about a year, you know, that's the hard part," Lingle said.

Lingle's wife, Denise, is also raising three children, including a set of twins. As she watched a videotape of an ABCNEWS interview of her husband in Afghanistan, she expressed both surprise over her husband's new mustache, and sadness.

"Just empty and lonely," she said. "I'm not alone. I'm never alone. But it's lonely."

Danger of Losing Families, Jobs?

Denise Lingle is hardly a whiner. In fact, she too is in the National Guard. But her mixed feelings about long deployments are shared by hundreds of families in southern Oregon.The 1086th Infantry Regiment's 1st Battalion draws its forces from communities such as Ashland, Medford and Grants Pass. Support of the family is essential, if citizen soldiers are to keep on volunteering and re-enlisting.

"If you lose the family, you're going to lose the soldier airmen," Burgin said.

And then there are all those small-town employers who are losing valued workers for almost a year.

"In the future, if they deem that this service is too detrimental to the long-term productivity of this individual," Burgin said, "whether they have to legally take them back is one thing, it's how do they take them back and what's their future in that organization?"

Although federal law requires civilian employers to keep jobs open for reservists, there's no law that requires them to keep paying salaries, or insurance premiums, for that matter. Even so, more than 200 companies do just that, mostly large corporations that can afford to do so.

Starbucks is one company that keeps up the payments on health insurance. That's reassuring to people like Sgt. Jenny Gunter, a Starbucks supervisor from Ashland who is stationed in the Sinai Desert.

"When I volunteered, they were like, 'Yeah, you know, go ahead and do it and when you get back, you're more than welcome here,'" Gunter said.

And Gunter is missed there, as well.

"People are asking about her," said Shallon Ferris, a Starbucks co-worker. "You know, wanting to know if she's keeping in touch and how she's doing in Egypt. Yeah, it's a small community. You know, she means a lot to a lot of people here in town."

‘Serving My Country’

Duty in the Sinai Desert can be long, hot, and often boring. But Gunter doesn't look at it that way.

"I'm serving my country," she said. "And there's people who have served before me, who allowed me to have the freedom that I have today."

Every National Guard member ABCNEWS spoke with echoed those sentiments. Their families back home voiced support, as well. But they, too, are making an enormous sacrifice for their country.

"When he left, the immediate thought in my mind is, 'Will I see him again?'" Susanne Esch said. "Every time he calls, 'Will I hear from him again?' Every time I get an e-mail, 'Is this the last one? Will something horrible happen?'"

"[It's] more of a sacrifice from this end," Denise Lingle said. "You know, I don't have him here. He does not get to see his children this year [2002], grow up and walk and develop. We do everything together. He's my best friend. I've lost my friend."

Is the military now demanding too much of its citizen soldiers? That part of the story Sunday.