For many, the war in Iraq is nothing more than fighting between armies thousands of miles away.

But for some at Krop, the war is a lot closer to home, as they have relatives or friends who were shipped out.

“My siblings and parents are all worried about him, but we know he’s doing what he likes to do and will do what he can to help everyone here in the US and in Iraq. We all hope that he will come back safe,” said junior Sara Lang.

Her brother, Capt. Jarred Lang of the Third Armored Calvary Regiment was shipped out on the third of April, his birthday. As he boarded the bus, his wife Molly, gave him a card and wishes that he’d come home soon.

Lang is only 26 years old, but has been in the army for about 8 years. He flies Apache helicopters and although he was ordered out, he wanted to go when news of his friend’s capture surfaced. The friend was a one of the recently released POWs.

“He hasn’t been able to contact us yet. He will have email, though, so we can keep in touch with him in addition to letter writing,” Lang said.

Waiting for a loved one’s return is the hardest part. Ffamilies must resort to staying glued to the television for updates.

“Everyday, we are watching the war and so far it’s only good news, thankfully. And I’m happy to hear the Iraqi people are celebrating. But it makes us very sad to know he might not return,” freshman Stephanie Ciceron said about Reginald, a close family friend who is “like an uncle” to her.

An army soldier, he was shipped off in January, and the family has only had scarce contact with him as well. Letters are the only way to reach him.

And although they know that their loved ones are doing good deeds overseas, they can’t help but feel that there must be another solution.

“[On one hand], I think this war is not the right thing to do because they are killing so many innocent people and its hard to know that one of your siblings or friends are over there and could be one of those innocent. But then, it is the right thing to do because we are defending our country and helping another country out and we are helping the Iraqis get their freedom,” Lang said.

“There are many more ways to be free than by going to war- it just causes so much loss ,” Ciceron said, “ But, I feel sorry for anyone’s loss and can understand.

In order to keep their loved ones close to heart, some like freshman Krizza Racedo have put their picture everywhere. Her cousin, who is in the army, was shipped out a month ago. She adorned her bag with a button of his picture, which every member of her family has. They have also put his picture on the TV.

“Every night we say a prayer for him. And we watch the news all the time, and I never used to watch the news,” she said.

She hasn’t been able to contact him, but her family recently received an email from his Sergeant’s wife stating that he was safe and would return as soon as they were done “cleaning up.”

But many have been warned not to make too much contact for fear that the information might fall into the wrong hands.

“We were warned not to send pictures or address information because the people could target military families if they were captured,” she said.

Her husband, an army specialist in the 94th transportation division, is stationed in Ft Stuart, GA, so she has been able to talk to him everyday and has even run up a high cell phone bill.

“It has helped alleviate some of the stress, but it’s causing many problems with my family, especially my three year old daughter. She’s a daddy’s girl and it has thrown off her whole routine, as he used to get her ready and took her to school. And although she knows he’s gone, she can’t understand that it’s for a long period of time,” she said.

“I guess the president feels that it is our duty to sacrifice some of our happiness now for them to be happy. But it’s upsetting,” she said.

Amidst tears she added, “The other day I cried over the silliest thing-when I was taking out the garbage. It just hit me: every thing I was used to is gone. We moved into a new house and it’s just very stressful, but I’m trying to cope.”