Perspective: Troops Depart for Third Iraq Tour

Two-year-old Alyssa Bernard gives a farewell kiss to her father, Sgt. Augusto Bernard, as he waits at Fort Stewart, Ga., with his family members and fellow soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment to depart for Iraq

FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Twice before, Sgt. Michael Konvicka has picked up a rifle to go to war. Doing it a third time won't be any easier.

"Every time I come back from Iraq, I tell my wife, `I'm done honey, stick a fork in me,'" said Konvicka, 36, of Flint, Mich. "I'm not really looking forward to it. But I've got 10 years in the Army, and I'm not about to throw that away."

Hours before President Bush was to announce his plan Wednesday to increase U.S. forces in Iraq, soldiers of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division said goodbye to their families as they deployed on their third tour.

The 19,000-troop 3rd Infantry, which helped lead the 2003 charge to Baghdad, is the first Army division to be tapped for a third deployment to the war. Barely a year has passed since its soldiers returned from their last yearlong rotation.

"It's another year I have to endure, and it's not easy," said Konvicka's wife, Sharon.

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