Soldier Sendoff

Family and friends prepare to say farewell to 47 soldiers... A special sendoff ceremony this eve...  More »

Family and friends prepare to say farewell to 47 soldiers... A special sendoff ceremony this evening honors soldiers and their families before a year-long deployment to Iraq... Saying goodbye can be especially hard on a soldier's mom. But reporter Amber Schatz shows us why one mom won't cry... But instead... gives advice for getting home safely. A guard sendoff-ceremony is nothing new to the Carter family. James has been to plenty... when his mom went to Desert Storm, his dad went to Bosnia, and just recently his sister and her husband left for Kosovo. (James andamp;quot;J.R.andamp;quot; Carter) andamp;quot;We're a pretty close-knit family, so I'm sure we'll be on phone or probably play phone tag more than anything.andamp;quot; This is the first sendoff ceremony for him... And James says it might be harder on his mom... who isn't usually the one being left behind. (James) andamp;quot;With me and my sister both being deployed, certainly going to be hard on her.andamp;quot; (Jan Carter/35 years in Guard) andamp;quot;It's certainly different putting on a mom hat, but I've been there as a commander and I know if they know their mission, they're going to be just fine. The words of encouragement extend from state leaders and commanders to close loved ones. And, as someone who's been to Iraq already... Jan has first hand advice for her son. (James)andamp;quot;My mom just says be strong, and focus on mission and time flies when you're having fun.andamp;quot; (Jan)andamp;quot;Keep your head on straight, the rest of it will come along, the days are long, but time goes by fast.andamp;quot; Something that might make it go by faster for these soldiers... Advances in technology. (Jan) andamp;quot;When I was in Desert Storm I would travel 50 miles to a phone bank and get there and hope someone's on the phone.andamp;quot; Social networking sites, and webcams allow soldiers today, to stay connected through miles of seperation... and harsh conditions. These 47 will be hauling supplies and soldiers in Black Hawk helicopters for the next year... (James) andamp;quot;It's not different than a bull rider, we just do our job, do it safely and come back to our families.andamp;quot; Until then... He will take in the advice he gets from his guard family... And know what it feels like... when the sendoff ceremony is for you. (James) andamp;quot;When you look around and everybody's here for same thing, different walks of life, different people, units, just knowing everybody cares for you, that's the big thing.andamp;quot; (Jan) andamp;quot;The community that continues to come out and support us, to know that we're not just going off by ourselves in a huddle, North Dakota is genuinely unique and I've seen other units in other states, they don't get support we do.andamp;quot; Amber Schatz, KX News. The 47 national guard soldiers will deploy to Oklahoma early next week. As part of the departure, there will be a special fly-over at the Capitol Monday at ten a-m.  « Less