PATRIOT STRIKE Army Staff Sgt. Joe Hammond, right front, leads his squad through a gully during Operation Patriot Strike in Ubaydi, Iraq, Dec. 29, 2007. Hammond is assigned to the the 101st Airborne Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment. U.S. Army Sgt. Ben Brody
CEREMONY FROM THE SIDELINES U.S. Army Spc. Maximo Delacruz with the 76th Brigade Combat Team sits out during a going away ceremony, Jan. 2, 2008, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. The Indiana National Guard will deploy the most soldiers since World War II with more than 3,400 scheduled to depart for Iraq. U.S. Army staff Sgt. Russell Klika
FATHER AND SON An Indiana National Guard soldier holds his son during the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team's departure ceremony at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Jan. 2, 2008. U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Peter Eustaquio