But that's what she did Sunday, tears streaming down her face, when he and 150 or so other soldiers with the U.S. Army Reserve's 535th Military Police Battalion left their Garner headquarters and got on buses to head to Fort Dix, N.J.

Somarriba, who was notified of his deployment last week while working at Harris Teeter in Cary's Waverly Place, told Saravia that he'd be safe working as a supply specialist.

"It's what I signed up for," he said, wiping away his own tears as he hugged his mother.

Within a month, the group of reservists will be in Iraq helping run a prison. Their commander, Lt. Col. Robin McMiller, plans on flying a North Carolina flag over the compound, she said.

Families attempted to laugh and enjoy Sunday's sunshine as they milled around, eating cake and sipping sweet tea. But occasional tears explained why they were there, to see their loved ones off to a war that has already taken the lives of more than 3,400 American servicemen and women.

"You think about it, but you try to keep it in the back of your mind," said Joyce Mosley, whose 24-year-old niece Laura Mosley left Sunday.

The biggest challenge in Mosley's family will be caring for the reservist's 3-year-old daughter, Jordan, who understands only that her mom is going away for a long time. Jordan will spend the year in Fuquay-Varina with her grandmother.

Mosley left behind pictures for Jordan, showing the two of them together, and told her daughter she would be gone for a while. "Why?" Jordan wanted to know.

Laura Mosley didn't know how to explain in terms her 3-year-old would understand.

"I don't know, Jordan, I just have to," she told her daughter.