Chief Warrant Officer Mark Toddy arrived in Panama City Tuesday after a year-long deployment south of Baghdad. CW2 Toddy says, "Just being away from the family was just very difficult. Everything else was just a job." His wife, Tammy, says she was "just lonely, it was just lonely without him."

The Toddys have been married for almost twenty years. Mark says he can't wait to spend time with his family. His son, Jordan, says, "I'm glad he's back home and I'm glad he's coming, and I'm very happy. I love him."

Toddy served with the 771st Maintenance Company out of Centerville, Tennessee. He just wrapped up his second tour in Iraq. In the early 90's, he served six-months in Desert Storm with the Army. After he left, he still wanted to serve his country in the National Guard: "They're calling on the National Guard more and more than they ever have before, so it almost feels like we're back in the regular Army."

That's the case for troops from the 1st Squadron of the 153rd Cavalry Regiment. Local National Guard soldiers are undergoing pre-mobilization training, in preparation for their deployment to Kuwait at the end of the year. They are currently at Camp Blanding, near Jacksonville. The squadron is made up of five units across the Panhandle, including Panama City, Chipley and Bonifay.

Ssg. Benjamin Hurst, with the Florida National Guard, says, "These soldiers right here are the soldiers that live, work, go to school right here in our local communities." About 800 soldiers from the Panhandle will be deployed at the end of the year; that will be part of the Florida National Guard's largest deployment since World War Two.