Call 'em crazy, but they're going back to Iraq

Nothing tastes as good as your first beer after a yearlong deployment in Iraq.

For Jason Daugherty, an Nevada Army National Guard specialist, that first drink was at a bar in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, minutes after he landed on American soil from the desert region torn by terrorist insurgency, poverty and religious strife.

What made the beer taste even better was that it was bought for him by a patriotic man who just wanted to treat a soldier.

"People say thank you all the time," says Jacob Roberts, 24, a Guard specialist.

Despite the appreciation of their countrymen and the comfort a cold beer brings, both have volunteered to return to Iraq. They'll leave from their second deployment on July 7.

The Carson City men returned in October from their first deployment in Iraq. Roberts was a convoy gunner; Daugherty, 23, was a truck driver.

Roberts' apartment in Carson City is almost bare, except for his gear piled near the door, the Coronas in the fridge and his military medals and honorary flag sitting atop his DVD case.

Here are the comforts of home: television, beer and couch, soft toilet paper, says Daugherty. Then there are the recreational trips to Lake Tahoe, where Roberts likes to snowboard in the winter and sun in the summer.

They're giving it up for another yearlong deployment in Iraq, where camaraderie is the comfort and the unpredictability of war brings them more joy than the humdrum jobs.

After completing a two-week guard training in Stead on Wednesday afternoon, they are still both dressed in military fatigues. They grumble that it's too hot in Carson City, but acquiesce that it's not nearly as bad as Iraq, where the temperature gets as high as 138 degrees. Their experience is beyond their years. Yet their age is betrayed by their choice in entertainment: rap (Roberts even performs under his brother's Carson City label), video games (Daugherty owns every popular game console) and kung fu movies.

"The job will be done when it's done," says Roberts.

They don't know. What they do know is that insurgents are killing more of their own people. Analysts describe Iraq as a nation on the brink of civil war, between the majority Shiite Muslims and the minority Sunni Muslims. This is a religious conflict that neither Roberts nor Daugherty understand.

"I think in the long run it will get better," Roberts says. "As long as Saddam Hussein is not in power. But there will be a lot of bumps in the road."

What most surprised Daugherty was that many people did want them there. Then there's the other half.

"It was 23 missions before I encountered my first IED," Roberts said.

Improvised Explosive Devices are more sophisticated, they say. The insurgents use laser-trip mines and pressure plates. Then there's the reckless shooting. Daugherty earned his Combat Action Badge last Valentine's Day when his convoy was shot at by one insurgent with an AK-47. Roberts got his badge in the outskirts of Tel Afar.

"I'm not saying I like to get shot at," Daugherty says. "But you get to see different countries, different people. It's nice to get out and see the world and not just watch it on the news."

They like the care packages from home.

"Some guys don't get any mail at all," Roberts says. "And it's nice to get something."

And when they do get home, they get beer. Or flipped off.

"On Stead Boulevard, there was this guy who flipped off each of our trucks that passed by," Roberts says. "I honked my horn, waved, and smiled."

• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.