1st Battalion

WASHINGTON COUNTY-Of all the fears of a military wife, the worst is discovering a strange car outside and watching people in uniform walk to the door. Amanda Bussard said she tries not to think about it, but she said she worries how her daughters will deal with their father's deployment to Iraq. "The worst part is saying, 'Your daddy's not coming home today, baby,'" said Bussard, 23, who talked by phone Thursday, the day before her husband, Sgt. Steve A. Bussard Jr., was scheduled to appear with his unit at a deployment ceremony in Frederick, Md. About 120 soldiers with A Company, 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment were shipping out with the unit, according to 1st Lt. Wayde Minami of the Maryland Army National Guard.

Of all the fears of a military wife, the worst is discovering a strange car outside and watching people in uniform walk to the door. Amanda Bussard said she tries not to think about it, but she said she worries how her daughters will deal with their father's deployment to Iraq. "The worst part is saying, 'Your daddy's not coming home today, baby,'" said Bussard, who talked by phone Thursday, the day before her husband, Sgt. Steve A. Bussard Jr., was scheduled to appear with his unit at a deployment ceremony in Frederick, Md. Fifty-three members of A Company, 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, have hometowns within the 21740 ZIP code, according to 1st Lt. Wayde Minami of the Maryland Army National Guard.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- About 140 Pennsylvania National Guard members in Franklin County are among 33,000 military personnel subject to a deployment announced by the Defense Department this week. The four Army combat brigades and two Marine regimental combat teams have been alerted for deployment to Iraq sometime in the first three months of 2009, the Pentagon stated in a news release. A spokesman with the Pennsylvania Department of Military & Veterans Affairs confirmed the deployment includes 4,000 troops in the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.

Army Staff Sgt. Jason C. Woods, son of James D. Woods of Kailua, Hawaii, and Jo Ann Campbell Berke of Hagerstown, has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Woods is a force protection supervisor normally assigned to the 58th Brigade Combat Team, Baltimore. Woods received an associate degree in 1998 from Essex Community College, Baltimore. Army Staff Sgt. Michael K. Cole, son of Roger L. and Charlene A. Hawes of Smithsburg, has been mobilized and activated for a future deployment to an undisclosed overseas location in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

SMITHSBURG - A 2003 Smithsburg High School graduate was injured earlier this week while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq, his unit confirmed Friday. The 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment's main headquarters at Camp Lejeune, N.C., would not release the extent or nature of Dane Fonte's injuries. Fonte is listed as a lance corporal on his MySpace Web site. A unit spokesman only would acknowledge that Fonte suffered the injuries Tuesday. Fonte's family could not be reached for comment.

Army Pvt. Marcus A. Du Fresne, son of Paul Du Fresne of Smithsburg, graduated from basic infantry training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. Du Fresne is a 2001 graduate of Smithsburg High School. Army Pvt. Crystal L. Barrett, daughter of James O. Barrett Sr. of Smithsburg, graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. Barrett is a 2002 graduate of McDonough High School, Pomfret, Md. Army National Guard Pvt. Joseph G. Stanton Jr., son of Joseph G. and Tammy L. Stanton of Smithsburg, is a member of the 48th Brigade Combat Team, which recently participated in one of the most realistic scenarios offered by the U.S. Army at the National Training Center (NTC)

Brandon M. Knight, son of Mark and Christy Eyler Knight of Smithsburg, and brother of Karah Knight, enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned on Oct. 13, to Fort Benning, Ga., home of the U.S. Army Infantry Training Center. After 14 weeks of basic combat and Advanced Individual Training, he graduated Feb. 11 from the U.S. Army Infantry training school, Bravo Co., 2nd Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment. On Feb. 10, in a ceremony known as "Turning Blue," Knight was awarded the U.S. Army Infantryman Blue Shoulder Cord and awarded the Expert Rifle Qualification Badge.