AUBURN - It wasn't long after 21-year-old Caleb Nappi had returned home from his five months of basic training for the National Guard when he learned that soldiers stationed at the Auburn guard unit were being deployed overseas.

“I'm excited about going over, but I wish I had a little more time with my family,” said Nappi, of Elbridge. “My father was kind of expecting it. My mom's not happy about it. My girlfriend's not happy about it.”

Nappi and other member's of the platoon stationed in Auburn will be leaving in early August for Fort Dix in New Jersey for training prior to going overseas to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The local soldiers are part of the 222nd Military Police Company.

Guardsman Al Drew, of Freeville, spent six years in active duty and eight years so far in the National Guard. A few years ago, he did a two-year stateside deployment in Scotia, N.Y., so Drew said his family - which includes his wife and three sons - has some concept for what it's like when he's on an extended mission.

Heather Drew, his wife, said this deployment to serve in Operation Iraqi Freedom is a little different.

While dealing with the day-to-day aspects of her husband being away may be easier for her and her children to handle because of his prior two-year deployment, the emotional aspects of the situation will not likely be any easier, she said.

“It's only easier because I'm better prepared for handling (day-to-day) stuff,” she said.

Drew's two oldest sons are 16 and 13, and thus are old enough to grasp the situation. His youngest son, Benjamin is six - seven next month - and Al Drew said Benjamin's only concept of how long Drew will be gone is “in terms of how many birthdays I won't be there for.”

“He understand that sometimes dad has to go away,” Drew said.

Wendy Walker, a member of the 222nd, and her husband, who in is the Army Reserves, have been “in and out” of military service for 22 years, she said. Their two children, both in college now, have some idea about what it's like for one or both of their parents to be deployed for a mission, she said. This will be Walker's first overseas deployment, however.

Her husband, Anthony, just returned from Iraq in March 2005, so Walker also understands the perspective of being the family member left at home. The deployments can be especially difficult for people with children, she said, but the Family Readiness Group, a network of families dealing with military deployments, can be helpful.

“My husband's not very happy because he knows what I'm going to be up against when I go there,” Walker said.

Prior to leaving, Walker said she'll also be training her husband about how to handle various household duties.

Guillermo Quintana, a member of the 222nd, is being deployed overseas this fall. Quintana, however, just returned from Iraq in May 2005 and could offer advice to his fellow guard members.

“I tell them to get to know the area they're working in,” Quintana said. “You see a lot of the same people ... If for some reason those people aren't there and they street is empty, that's when (an ambush) will happen.”

When he got sent overseas, Quintana had been part of a platoon in Syracuse which, along with a platoon in Buffalo, got attached to an infantry unit in Arkansas.

Soldiers in the 222nd will have different duties, since it's a military police unit, but Quintana could still offer realities about being overseas and realities about being away from family.

All soldiers, he said, are given a two-week leave during what could be a year-long deployment. Leaving home after his two-week leave, he said, was even harder than leaving for Iraq for the first time, which prompts some soldiers to forgo their leaves.

“It might be easier for them (to forgo the leave), but it's not going be easier for their families,” he said. “It was good for my kids. They needed to see me.”

Auburn's guard unit just recently reorganized last October into a military police unit. Prior to the reorganization it was the 108th Infantry Battalion.

The local platoon will join with the platoon in Hornell, also a part of the 222nd. They leave for Fort Dix in early August, where they will merge with the 240th Military Police Unit out of Puerto Rico. There is no definite time period for when the unit will be deployed overseas, but Master Sgt. Herald Jones said it would be sometime this fall.

Until then, the soldiers will be training for specific skills and running through missions similar to what they will be doing overseas. They operate as a combat support company, and duties will include escorting convoys, securing roads and clearing buildings, said Captain Eric Killoran.

On Sunday, however, the focus at the Auburn armory was largely on briefing the families on a variety of topics and the resources available to them while a family member is serving overseas.

Having been through deployments before with both parents, Walker said her children are little more accustomed to how to handle the situation. For families dealing with a deployment for the first time, it may be different, she said.

“Being in and out of the military for 22 years ... you're kids kind of grow up with it,” she said. “For someone who never had to go through it before, it's hard.”

Staff writer Anne Gleason can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or at anne.gleason@lee.net.