Arthur L. Smith and his family usually celebrate when he leaves with the U.S. Army Reserves 173rd Quartermaster Co., says his wife, Carolyn of Coila.
His three children - ages 8, 12 and 13 - know they'll get to eat out more and worry about doing their chores less. And Smith, 36, knows he'll see them again in a matter of days.
When Smith, who directs the Leflore County Restitution Center, got the call for active duty and training at Fort Campbell, Ky., his 8-year-old daughter, Kelsey, expected the usual.
"She asked, 'Mama, do we celebrate," said Mrs. Smith. But this time, the answer was different.
"I said, 'No, honey, there's nothing to celebrate."
Her father's mission now is much more serious, and the time he'll be away, much longer.
The children don't remember the last time their father, who has served in the reserves for 18 years, was called up while war was brewing in the Middle East. The eldest, Kadeem, turned one shortly while his father was surviving sand storms and the desert heat in Kuwait in 1990. The other two had not even been born.
It looks like the war will be over before Smith gets over there this time, his wife said. Even so, she knows he'll be ready.
"Even when the war's over, they still have a job to do, and they know they'll probably have to go over there for some clean-up work," said Mrs. Smith, an eligibility worker at the Department of Human Services.
Mrs. Smith didn't let two weeks go by before she took the children to visit their father at Fort Campbell. They took a trip there last weekend. She reports that the mood among Smith's company seems to be upbeat.
Some of the younger soldiers don't know what to expect in Iraq if they go, Mrs. Smith says. Her husband is letting them know.
"He was trying to explain to them what to expect," she said. "He told them things are not going to be what they're like on a regular drill day."
