Normally at this time of year, junior Laura Naylor would be bundling up to withstand the cold weather on her way to class at UW-Madison, with only exams and weekend plans to worry about.
Instead, she is several thousand miles away in Baghdad training and protecting Iraqi police officers in 120-degree heat, wondering what will happen next.
\There really is no such thing as a regular day,"" she told The Daily Cardinal via e-mail.
Naylor is one of many Wisconsin students serving in Iraq who will soon be joined by others from the four new units of the Wisconsin National Guard called up last week. Being called up for duty can have a serious effect on students, as shown by one currently serving in Iraq, one who will soon depart and one who could be notified of deployment at any time.
Sara Roeske, a junior at UW-Milwaukee, was one of these soldiers recently activated, and will report for duty Dec. 7 with the other units. She has been aware of a possible call-up since Valentine's Day. Roeske is now in the process of moving out of her apartment and getting her status at school figured out, but leaving mid-semester is not a big problem.
""[School] was just something to keep me busy before something happened. I am excited and anxious and nervous,"" she said.
Roeske is in a public-affairs unit and is a specialist in media escorting, meaning journalists from mainstream media outlets, such as CNN, come to her to verify facts collected in the field.
Erica Alvey is a freshman at UW-Madison and a member of the 106 Ashland Quarry Unit of the National Guard, which specializes in blasting and excavating quarry sides to make the granite that builds roads. She has not yet been activated, but her status remains up in the air.
""Some days they're looking at us a lot more, and other days they tell us we won't go. It's kind of a scary concept,"" she said.
Lt. Col. Tim Donovan, the Wisconsin National Guard spokesperson, said the call-up coming in the middle of the semester is a problem for students, but an earlier call-up would have made completing the semester more difficult.
Naylor advises incoming soldiers to prepare for uncomfortable conditions and added that the initial fear of being in a war zone eventually subsides and is replaced by ""smarts"" and homesickness. She said things in Iraq are constantly changing as new missions are put on priority.
""The only way to prepare is to get ready for anything,"" she said.
She has been in the country for five months and has a tentative return date in April.
Being a veteran of the conflict in Iraq, Naylor had one last piece of advice for new soldiers in the area.
""They can expect to not take anything for granted ever again,"" she said.
