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Here are some more glimpses into the two lives of Oregonian National Guard Members:

Staff Sgt. Angel Smith Duty: Sergeant in charge of military police Age: 28 Hometown: Hillsboro Civilian occupation: Police officer Family status: Single

Angel Smith has been a cop, in one way or another, for 11 years.

When she graduated from Glencoe High School in 1991, she joined the regular Army and its military police program. When she left active duty, she became an officer with the Tigard Police Department.

But she left that to go on the Sinai mission. "For us," she said, "the more high-speed the mission, the better we like it. It's nice to be able to say that we were on a mission that mattered. It won't be as if we guarded a box in the desert. I was in the active-duty Army for 21/2 years after high school, and I never did anything like this."

Smith is aware of the tension in the Middle East and the summer temperatures, but she probably will have no problem with the isolation. Her first active-duty assignment in the Army was to tiny Johnson Island, about 825 miles southwest of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

And while she's used to being a cop, she faces her biggest police job ever -- and one that's critical internationally.

Pfc. Rachel Mayhill Duty: Mental health counselor Age: 19 Hometown: Redmond Civilian occupation: Student Family status: Single

When Rachel Mayhill got the opportunity to go to the Sinai Peninsula with the Oregon National Guard, the first thing she did was call her mother. "I said, 'Mom, what do you think of this?' " said the third of five children.

"Mom just told me to go for it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Our kids may never get a chance to do what we're doing, and I want to have those stories to tell."

For Mayhill, the opportunity comes at a good time. She tried college for two years when she graduated from high school and decided not to go back this year. She wasn't working, either, so she was in between just about everything.

There's a lot she doesn't know about what will happen during the mission, but that doesn't matter. "I have no idea what to expect," she said. "Sometimes I get that unsure feeling, but I'm not that worried. Everybody who is on this mission wants to be here."