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PERSPECTIVE:  TROOP TALES  [April 23, 2004] – The war in Iraq – dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom – relies heavily on National Guard and Reserve soldiers, including hundreds from Nebraska. It's a different war for these citizen soldiers. Different rules and benefits for their service abroad, different job and family conflicts back home. To better understand these soldiers and their role in the war, last year we started following one Nebraska unit last year – the 105th Army National Guard Personnel Detachment. It's made up of soldiers from throughout the state. Men and women, teenage college students and 50-something grandparents. In March 2004 they returned from an Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment that lasted more than a year. "Statewide's" Mike Tobias has personal stories of three members of the 105th, and examines the good and bad of their mission.  VIDEOS Watch the Perspective: RealPlayer | QuickTime "Statewide's" Mike Tobias talks with U.S. Senator Ben Nelson about the challenges facing National Guard and Reserve units, and whether the downsizing of our active duty military force is putting too much of a birden on these soldiers. Watch the segment: RealPlayer | QuickTime "Guarding Bosnia" - "Statewide" travels to Bosnia for a first-hand look at the work of Nebraska National Guard peacekeepers for this series of September 2003 Perspectives. "Police Call-Ups" - a "Statewide" Perspective from April 2003 on the impact of Guard and Reserve deployments on local law enforcement. "Call to Duty" - a March 2003 "Statewide" Perspective on the deployment of the 105th Personnel Detachment.    TRANSCRIPTS Transcript of Troop Tales Tell us what you think about this story or send us your story ideas. E-mail Statewide - statewide@unl.edu ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: • Nebraska National Guard – http://www.neguard.com/ • U.S. Department of Defense – http://www.defenselink.mil/ • PBS "Newshour" War in Iraq web site – http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/iraq/index.html • U.S. Army Operation Iraqi Freedom site – http://www.army.mil/operations/oif/ • U.S. Central Command site – http://www.centcom.mil/ • White House Renewal in Iraq site – http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/iraq/