Spc. Michael Baker sits alone on a bench following a mobilization
ceremony held September 27, 2003 in Dunn, North Carolina for Baker and
other members of Company B, 230th Support Battalion of the North
Carolina Army National Guard who have been called to federal active
duty in support of the war in Iraq as of October 1st. The Battalion is
part of the nearly 4,800 soldiers of the 30th Heavy Separate Brigade
that has been called up for active duty. The soldiers, 3,500 of which
are based in North Carolina, were told to expect between twelve and
eighteen months of active duty. This is the largest mobilization of
North Carolina National Guard soldiers since World War II.
REUTERS/Ellen Ozier

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