CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) – Marine reservists primarily from New England who were mobilized for the Iraq conflict are being assigned to Japan for six months.

About 1,000 troops from 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, are headed for Okinawa, where they will take on duty for troops returning from Iraq so they can spend time with their families.

“It may not sound like much, but for the guys we’re relieving and those who are coming home it means a lot,” said Gunnery Sgt. Forrest Marsh, 35, a maintenance specialist from Weymouth, Mass.

The unit, which includes about 80 riflemen from a company based in Topsham, Maine, is finalizing preparations this week for their deployment.

The reservists arrived at Camp Lejeune in January with orders to stay for a year, and many expected to head to combat zones in the Middle East. They arrived at Camp Lejeune as 20,000 of the base’s 30,000 troops were leaving for Iraq.

During their time at Camp Lejeune, the reservists have rotated with another unit as the force ready to respond on short notice to terrorist threats.

Some said it has been tough for those who wait and watch the war with the rest of the world.

“There are no guarantees, but it’s difficult when you’re snapping in on the rifle range and the war is starting,” said Cpl. Ron O’Brien, 23, a Wall Street broker from Ridgefield, Conn. “You start thinking about your friends who have passed away.”

O’Brien lost his best friend, Tyler V. Ugolyn, 23, a mutual fund research associate, in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

“I don’t complain because of him,” O’Brien said.

The mission means the reservists could be called upon to respond to any instability in Southeast Asia or the Korean peninsula.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a reserve battalion to get a chance to go to the Far East,” said Maj. John Grella, 35, a federal law enforcement officer from Hampton, N.H.

The battalion includes reserve units from Ayer, Mass.; Topsham, Maine; Londonderry, N.H.; Plainville, Conn.; and Broken Arrow, Okla. Half of the reservists have academic degrees or were attending college when they were mobilized. Some are doctors, lawyers and police officers.