Prado is preparing to take these memories with him when his Army Reserve unit, the 146th Transportation Company, is deployed to the Middle East after March 26.

''Since we are a strong family, I know that we'll be able to cope,'' Prado said.

Prado's company and the 872nd Ordnance Company are two Ogden-area units with 380 soldiers who will be deployed to the Middle East this year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The 146th Transportation Company will be headed to Fort Bliss, Texas, March 26 and be deployed afterward. The 872nd Ordnance Company will arrive at Fort Bliss June 5 to prepare for deployment. Members of both groups will be deployed for as long as 545 days.

Prado remembers the mid-February day he received the call on his cell phone telling him of his impending deployment.

''My body was warm all of a sudden,'' he said with a chuckle. ''It was a good feeling. I've been expecting this for a while. I feel good about getting the call for serving our own country, to defend our country, our freedom.''

Prado has worked in the Army Reserve for 17 years as a mechanic. He also works as a federal employee in West Valley, where he currently lives.

While Prado was happy to receive the deployment call, Sgt. Roberta Hovey, 24, of Ogden, was less than pleased with the news.

''You almost dread it,'' she said.

Hovey, who is also in the 146th Transportation Company, had already been deployed to Iraq with another company out of Germany. She arrived home in February 2004 and wasn't expecting to go back.

However, the reality of being deployed to the Middle East again is sinking in for Hovey, and she is becoming used to idea.

''So I'm going to this sandbox again,'' she said. ''OK. It's another learning experience.''

For Hovey, the strain of a less-than-comfortable atmosphere in Iraq and homesickness trumped any fears she had.

''You appreciate things a lot more,'' Hovey said, ''smaller things that most people just don't, like flushing toilets and beds with mattresses.''

Hovey said she doesn't have any fear this time around. She knows what to expect while transporting supplies across the desert.

Sgt. Ryan Burgoyne, 21, of Bountiful, acknowledges he will also be homesick, but he will concentrate on the task at hand.

''I've heard of people that have worried about what's going on back home too much and end up hurt,'' Burgoyne said.

Burgoyne has been with the 146th Transportation Company for five years. He has been mobilized to Fort Bliss before but has never been deployed. However, he is not nervous about the call to duty.

''I've known a few guys here that have recently got back [from the Middle East] and are going again,'' Burgoyne said. ''They know what they're doing.''

Despite different outlooks on news of the deployment, both Hovey and Prado said they are glad to be deployed with the 146th.