Saying goodbye

Jarrod Schmoker of McCook says goodbye to his wife, Kerri, and 31/2-month-old son, Mason, at the National Guard Armory this morning. Schmoker and 10 fellow guardsmen from the McCook unit are included in the deployment of Nebraska's 1057th Light/Medium Transportation Co. based in Chadron. Sgt. Todd Wagner of the McCook unit said the length of the soldiers' stay at their mobilization station at Fort Carson, Colo., will be dictated by the mission for which they are trained and the amount of training needed. Wagner said the soldiers' mission is limited to 365 days. Kerri Schmoker said the separation will be tough, but she plans to keep Jarrod informed of Mason's activities with pictures and a video camera.