PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — About 100 Maine National Guards men and women who were spared a tour of duty in Iraq are now facing another challenge — finding a job.

Last month deployment orders were canceled for the Guard’s 133rd Engineer Battalion.

The Portland Press Herald says most of the unit’s 520 soldiers had civilian jobs to fall back on, but some didn’t.

Greg Small of the Maine Committee of Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve says most of the unemployed civilian soldiers are young people, many right out of school. They had expected a steady paycheck during what was to have been the tour in Iraq.

Earlier this month, the state Labor Department held two-hour job-search sessions for the soldiers in different locations across Maine.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com

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