Dudley, who has children ages 10, 7 and 5, agreed with his fellow soldiers about missing the little things some parents might take for granted. "I missed the birthdays, the school functions, the basketball practices," said Dudley, a computer programmer from Odenton.
During their time apart, many families kept in touch with e-mail and frequent phone calls.
Sgt. Mark Jessee, an Aberdeen Proving Ground police officer, got lots of shipments of his favorite snack, pistachios. "It was a little overwhelming at some points, but nice to know they were thinking of me," said Jessee, who has 16- and 13-year-old sons and 15- and 11-year-old daughters.
He had been deployed once before, several years ago, but the assignment was in Maryland, when he and his family lived in Virginia, which made monthly visits home possible.
For Maj. Charles Blomquist, an assistant state's attorney in Baltimore, the deployment was also a second tour. About a year and half ago, as a Reserve officer, Blomquist was sent to Afghanistan.
"This time was a little harder," said his wife, Joan. Their sons, 10 and 11 years old, are more independent and in some ways easier to care for, she said.
"But they also knew more of what was going on," Joan Blomquist, an obstetrician-gynecologist, said. "They were a little more anxious."
Their father had been the boys' Little League coach before the deployment.
The couple also had to deal with the deaths of both of their fathers during the year, she said. They are still getting back into a normal routine and coping with the losses.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, about 4,900 Maryland Guard members have been deployed, said Lt. Col. Charles Kohler. About 130 members of a military police unit from Parkville are currently serving in Iraq. They are due to return from a year of service this fall, Kohler said. About 80 members from a medical company in Laurel are also stationed in Iraq. They are due to return home next spring.
More than one elected official yesterday compared the unpopularity of this war to the Vietnam War, but noted a difference between the two.
"I think every man and woman in this country supports our servicemen and -women," said Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, "whether or not they support this war."
laura.barnhardt@baltsun.com
