Perspective: Citizen-soldiers answering the call -- at a high price

Reservists of Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment

Let's make one thing clear. This isn't about shirking a sacrifice or attempting to get out of a commitment. When soldiers sign up for the National Guard or Reserves, they know they could be activated for combat.

"It's not like I should be surprised," says Keith Harper, a sergeant in the Redwood City Police Department, a major in the Air Force Reserve and a veteran of multiple trips to combat zones in the Middle East. "The nation called and said, 'You know all those things we said could happen when you signed? Well, they're happening.' "

But that doesn't mean it isn't hard, particularly for thousands of citizen-soldiers who learned this week that they may be called up for another tour under President Bush's plan to beef up troops in Iraq by more than 20,000.

Read the rest at the SF Chronicle