Patty Loew:
We begin with the largest deployment of Wisconsin National Guard troops since World War II. This is Tuesday's sendoff ceremony in Madison for the 32nd brigade combat team. It includes 3200 soldiers from across the state. The brigade made a real name for itself in two world wars as part of Wisconsin's famed Red Arrow Division. This time, it's headed to Texas for training and then Iraq for active duty as a security force.

Don Dunbar:
These soldiers volunteered, they put on a uniform, they endured the rigor of hard training. And they stand up and they say, I'll go. And that burden has always been disproportionate. But I'll tell you, as long as we have men and women like these, this nation need not fear anything.

Patty Loew:
This historic nature of this deployment is not lost on members of the 32nd. In Wisconsin reporter Frederica Freyberg introduces you to two soldiers from New Richmond who volunteered to go so they could experience the 12 month mission together.

Bruce Wozniak:
Very good group of guys, very close.

Frederica Freyberg:
Sergeant Bruce Wozniak shares photos of his mission to Iraq with his son Victor. But very soon they'll be sharing the real thing.

Victor Wozniak:
I'd rather be going with my dad than somebody else.

Frederica Freyberg:
What young soldier wouldn't? Dad, otherwise known as Sergeant Wozniak, already has one Iraq mission under his belt. Earlier in his career he was also in the army's special forces. This is Sergeant Wozniak training the platoon in Florida in January.

Victor Wozniak:
He helps push me harder because he wants me to be the best I can and doesn't like me to slack off. I hear about it a lot later.

Frederica Freyberg:
For such a tough guy, Bruce busts a big smile when considering his 21-year-old.

Bruce Wozniak:
I'm very proud of him. He did not have to go. He's in college. He did not have to go.

Frederica Freyberg:
At home, Victor is a junior at UW-River Falls but is on leave from school to deploy with the 32nd. He could have waited but wanted to go with this storied brigade.

Army Film:
32nd has more combat hours in World War II than any other american position.

Frederica Freyberg:
And his father who also volunteered to return because of his son's desire to serve. For his part, even at home, Bruce doesn't spend much time out of uniform because Sergeant Wozniak is State Trooper Wozniak. Trooper Wozniak says in some ways he feels like it's more dangerous driving Wisconsin interstates as a trooper than driving convoys in Iraq as a soldier.

Bruce Wozniak:
I got so used to having somebody in here all the time that to get in alone with nobody in the car was quite a shock to be alone after being with someone after eight months, having a driver and a gunner. A few years back I got hit on I-94 and it hurt a lot more than getting hit by an IED.

Frederica Freyberg:
His run-in with the improvised explosive device in Iraq caused minor injuries. He has the greatest confidence in the mission and its commanders.

Bruce Wozniak:
I think we know what we're doing. I think we got good equipment, good leadership. I've been very impressed.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so, father and son, sergeant and soldier, will soon deploy to Iraq together. The younger, not knowing just what to expect.

Victor Wozniak:
I'm not going to say I'm nervous. I'm a little anxious.

Frederica Freyberg:
The elder primed by experience and the last mission.

Bruce Wozniak:
Everybody we took over, we brought back, so it we want very, very well. And we expect the same this time.

Frederica Freyberg:
And of course, father and son will most especially have each other's back.

Patty Loew:
The Red Arrow Division is a predecessor to the 32nd brigade combat team. It is legendary in Wisconsin after winning decisive battles in World War I and World War II.

Scott Van Zeeland:
Red Arrow has a rich history in the state of Wisconsin and so we have a highway named after it.

Patty Loew:
For a closer look at the history of the Red Arrow Division, go to our website at wpt.org/inWisconsin.