COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) – Eighty Vermont National Guard soldiers were trying to pack in some extra summer fun with their families in recent days as they prepared for a deployment to Iraq that could last 18 months.

The members of the 131st Engineer Company, who got their orders in April, first will see training at a base in Wisconsin and then ship out to the war zone.

Some have been to Iraq before, serving in the Gulf War of 1991, but know this time will be different. “The first Gulf War went so fast. It was just bang, bang, and it was done,” said Sgt. David Burbo, 49, of Milton. “It’s a big difference, 100 hours to three years.”

Saturday’s mustering of the 131st Engineers was the last in a series of deployments that have involved every Vermont Guard unit.

Vermont has sent more than 2,200 troops to Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia since 2003. Ten have died in combat.

An 11th died of natural causes while training in Kuwait.

Some soldiers with very young families were trying to figure out if their children had a sense of how long they’d be gone.

Dan and Melissa Roberge of Colchester filled two jars with 545 Hershey’s kisses each, one jar for 4-year-old Jake and one for 3-year-old Tyler. Each jar bears a label with a picture of Dan and the boys, with the caption, “Daddy’s hugs & kisses.” Each boy will get one treat each day until their Dad, a Vermont Army National Guard sergeant, returns home.

As for Dan Roberge, Melissa was preparing to bake him an apple pie. A bit out of season, she said, but these were extenuating circumstances.

“I’m probably not going to see a good apple pie for a long time,” Dan Roberge said.

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Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com