Father, 2 sons will ship off to Iraq

Sometimes, there are things that even Mom can't make better.

Youngwood's Kim Hixson would much prefer that wasn't true.

Otherwise, she would keep her oldest son, Robert Jr. at home, safe and sound, far away from the war he's being called to fight in. Same goes for her other child, Victor. He'll go, too. So will her husband, Robert Sr.

All three are members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. All three are assigned to the 1st Battalion, 110th Infantry headquarters company, which is based in Mt. Pleasant.

All three will be leaving Saturday and ultimately will be deployed to Iraq.

Their unit is one of many being activated for a call-up that affects just about every National Guard unit in the state.

The deployment includes 2,400 Guardsmen from Pennsylvania and 1,400 from seven other states. They'll all fall under the command of Col. Harry Coulter and the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Coulter lives in Hempfield Township; the 2nd Brigade is based in Washington, Pa.

In some cases, entire units are going. In others, some soldiers from units are going. In that way, the call-up affects nearly every Pennsylvania Guard unit, Coulter has said.

Their first stop is Camp Shelby, Miss., where they will receive a few months of additional training. It's expected that by early summer, they'll be standing on foreign sands.

Some of the soldiers and units have already left for Camp Shelby. The 110th battalion and others are leaving Saturday.

The emotions that Kim Hixson is experiencing are hard to put into words, she said.

"How's a mother supposed to feel?" she asked.

The Hixson men aren't thrilled about leaving their wife and mother behind, but they take comfort in knowing that she'll have plenty of other family members on which to lean.

"I think she's strong enough to get through it," said Victor, who is 18 and a specialist.

He and his brother grew up in the military with their father.

Sgt. Robert Hixson Sr. enlisted in the Guard in 1981 and stayed in until 1988. Then, the country fought the first Iraq War, and it rekindled his interest in the service. So he re-enlisted in 1991.

Whenever there was anything going on at the armory, his sons were with him, he said. Both enlisted between their junior and senior years of high school and started their careers shortly after graduation.

"To have them in the unit is very special," he said.

All three said they are glad to be serving together.

"I'll have an advantage other soldiers won't," Sgt. Robert Jr. said.

He lives in Blairsville now, with his wife, Crysta, and their daughter, Alyssa.

Victor still lives in his parents' home in Youngwood, where he said he could always say no to his Dad.

However, they're both medics in the Guard, and father outranks son.

"I just have to do what he says," Victor said.

Once they arrive in the Mideast, they'll be in the company of many other southwestern Pennsylvania soldiers.

The Army Reserve's 14th Quartermaster Detachment and 1004th Quartermaster Supply Company, both based in Hempfield Township, are there or on their way.

So are the New Kensington and Indiana units of the 458th Engineer Battalion.

Units from the Pennsylvania National Guard's 1st Battalion, 103rd Armor, left last summer.

In fact, there are many other Guardsmen fighting in the war.

More than half of America's 446,000 Army and Air National Guard troops have been called to active duty, according to reports. In all, about 239,000 troops have been activated.

Military experts and Guard troops said a smaller Army and the personnel needs posed by the war in Iraq have led to greater dependence on the Guard.