By Daniel Hartill,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Ben and Michelle Abbott first glimpsed Hurricane Katrina from the balcony of their Key Largo hotel room, where they were celebrating their honeymoon.

They’d been home from Florida for three weeks when they received the call.

Ben, also known as Spc. Benjamin Abbott of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion, didn’t hesitate when the question came over the phone.

“You want to go to Louisiana?” the caller asked.

“Sure,” Ben said.

For the trip south, the 22-year-old Lewiston man will join about 50 other soldiers from the battalion’s Charlie Company, based in Lewiston and Norway.

They could leave for New Orleans as soon as Sunday.

For the Abbotts, it will be just another separation. From May 2003 to June 2004, Ben served in Iraq, volunteering for an assignment with the 878th Engineer Battalion out of Georgia.

“I’ve gotten used to being apart,” said Michelle. In their three years as a couple, she and Ben have spent 16 months apart.

“It’s almost half our time,” Michelle said.

The couple became engaged just before Ben went to Iraq. They married on Aug. 20. Then, they went to Key Largo.

They were a few days into their honeymoon when Katrina blew through. The storm knocked out the power in their hotel. It blew over nearby trees.

“The night it came, I sat on the balcony and watched for three hours,” Michelle said.

A few days later, when they were home in Lewiston and watching the destruction along the Gulf, Ben began to suspect he’d get a call.

“I thought about what was going on and what we do,” Ben said of his unit, which constructs roads and buildings. “I figured we’d go.”

Rumors that the unit might get called up first spread two weekends ago. Officers announced that it might happen. Three days later, it was official.

By last Thursday, leaders within the unit were calling every soldier on the roster. On the first pass, the call was for volunteers. Then, with some jobs still unfilled, a second call came with orders attached.

Technically, it’s not a call-up, as duty in Iraq was described. This has been labeled “early extended training” and it takes the place of next year’s annual two weeks of training, required of every member of the Guard.

Most importantly, this duty won’t include war.

Their job in New Orleans will be clearing routes around the city, said Maj. Michael Backus, spokesman for the Maine Army National Guard.

However, that mission may change. The roughly 150 people from the battalion will include electricians, plumbers, carpenters and general equipment operators such as Ben.

“We’re going to be in America,” he said. And he’ll be serving with the men and women in his battalion, which he wasn’t doing in Iraq.

Ben was already in Iraq when the rest of the 133rd was activated and sent over. He came home sooner, too.

The balance of the battalion returned in March.

For many, their homecoming is ongoing, said Sgt. First Class Peter Kelley.

The battalion was gone for 14 months, time spent away from spouses, children and jobs.

“It still feels like we just got back,” said Kelley, a member of Charlie Company who lives in Scarborough. “I’m still adjusting.”

So are the newlyweds.

They planned to move next week, from an apartment in Lewiston to another in Auburn. Now, Michelle will have to move alone.

It’s an annoyance, she said. She was more annoyed by her new husband’s quick choice to volunteer.

As happened with Iraq, he volunteered without talking with her first.

“I won’t do that again,” he vowed Monday.

“He’s lying,” his wife said.

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