Once again, deployment

THINGS HAVE certainly changed since those long-ago days when a body joined the National Guard to get out of going overseas. These days, it’s almost a guarantee.

Which is all the more reason to salute those you see in uniform at the minimart at dawn on Saturdays, getting their morning cuppa joe before reporting to the local armory. You don’t need to live near an Army fort or an Air Force base to see folks who could be called away tomorrow. They might live next door. Or, yes, even closer.

Word came this week that about 700 guardsmen in Arkansas were given the word: another deployment ahead. Or at least a real possibility of another deployment. The assignment this time would be the Horn of Africa, home of al-Shabaab and ocean pirates. In perfect Armyese, the U.S. Africa Command says soldiers sent there will “promote regional security and stability,” counter extremists and . . . “dissuade conflict.”

Yes, there’s nothing like dissuading somebody interested in conflict than a United States infantryman with his M-16, locked and loaded and pointed in your direction. Unless it’s a tank commander and his platoon. Both backed up by the artillery and fast movers in the sky. God bless them all.

Another group of specialists in public affairs has been told they could be sent to Guantanamo Bay soon enough to follow around those pesky media types and even serve as reporters for the U.S. military. May they be safe, too.

As usual, it’s hurry up and wait. Details about who, when, where, etc., are to come in the months ahead. Look for the operation orders. Until then, time to zero in those weapons and polish up on rules of engagement.

Weekend warriors? That phrase went out with A Flock of Seagulls. Just look at all those National Guardsmen