HAWAII ARMY NATIONAL GUARD Hawaii Army National Guard Spc. Aurora Serrao, right, and her mother, Staff Sgt. Julie-Ann H. Lo, shown here on Oct. 2, are among the latest group of citizen soldiers to be called up to Afghanistan.

Mom and daughter
called to duty

They are part of 67 isle Guard troops
likely headed to Afghanistan

A Hawaii Army National Guard mother-daughter team were among the latest group of citizen soldiers called up for combat duty in the war against terror.

Isle forces aid war on terror A look at where Hawaii's soldiers are serving in the war effort: IRAQ » The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Division, and is now part of the 1st Infantry Division in Tikrit and Kirkuk (4,500 soldiers). » 193rd Aviation, Hawaii Army Guard, Charlie Company (200), assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. » 411th Combat Engineer Battalion with the 1st Cavalry Division in Baghdad (300). AFGHANISTAN » 193rd Aviation, Bravo Company, Hawaii Army National Guard, in Kandahar (62). » 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry, in Kandahar and Bagram Air Base (5,500). KUWAIT » 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, assigned to 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (900). » Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, assigned to Medium Helicopter Squadron 265 (70 Marines and six CH-53D Sea Stallions). ON THEIR WAY » 29th Infantry Brigade (2,200), now training in El Paso at Fort Bliss.

Their units, the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment and the 298th Engineer Detachment, received their mobilization orders yesterday.

Spc. Aurora Serrao, an administrative specialist with the 117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, and her mother, Staff Sgt. Julie-Ann H. Lo, a member of the 298th Engineer Detachment, are among the 67 Hawaii soldiers notified that they will be headed for duty.

That brings the total number of island soldiers called out for duty in the Middle East and Afghanistan to 13,700.

The two units will receive an additional 10 soldiers from Alaska and will be mobilized Jan. 10 for 18 months. They may spend their first few months at Schofield Barracks.

The last time the 117th was mobilized was in 1996, when it was deployed for six months in Bosnia, providing still and video images of Army activities while producing an Army newspaper.

The engineer detachment has built classrooms during exercises in the Philippines.

Serrao, 21, said both she and her mother expect to be sent to Afghanistan, where there are already more than 5,500 soldiers from Hawaii. Her mother has been a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard for 18 years.

In March, the 25th Infantry Division deployed 5,500 soldiers from Schofield Barracks, including its 3rd Brigade Combat Team and its headquarters elements led by Maj. Gen. Eric Olson.

Also in Afghanistan are 62 aviators and helicopter crew personnel of the Hawaii Army National Guard's Bravo Company, 193rd Aviation. They are assigned to the 1st Infantry Division.

Serrao, who works for a dentist in Kunia, has been a member of the 117th for a little more than a month.

Serrao's two brothers are on active duty in the Army and alerted to deploy to Afghanistan. Another brother is going for a second tour to Iraq and the fourth is awaiting orders for deployment.

Spc. Raymond Serrao, who just returned from Iraq, has told his sister to expect extreme weather conditions in the Middle East.

"When it's hot, it's really hot," she was told by her brother. "When it's cold, it's freezing. There is nothing in between."

Serrao, a 2001 Nanakuli High School graduate, said she believes all her brothers want to make the military a career.

She had enlisted in the Hawaii Army Guard two years ago, hoping to take advantage of its educational benefits.

"I had planned to take courses in business administration this year," she said.

But that changed when her unit was put on alert earlier this year.

In Iraq, more than 4,500 Schofield Barracks soldiers of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team have passed the halfway point in their 12-month combat rotation.

There are also two Hawaii Army National Guard and Army Reserve units in Iraq.

More than 200 helicopter pilots and air crews from the Hawaii Army National Guard's 193rd Aviation Charlie Company have been assigned to the 1st Infantry Division since late spring.

The Pacific Army Reserve's 411th Combat Engineer Battalion with 300 soldiers from Hawaii left the islands in March for a year's tour in Baghdad.