SOLDIER HUGS HER SON FOLLOWING A MOBILIZATION CEREMONY IN NORTH CAROLINA, 2003-09-27 (photo)

Spc. Jen Flint hugs her eighteen month-old son Zack following a mobilization ceremony held September 27, 2003 in Dunn, North Carolina for Flint and other members of Company B, 230th Support Battalion of the North Carolina Army National Guard who have been called to federal active duty in support of the war in Iraq as of October 1. The Battalion is part of the nearly 4,800 soldiers of the 30th Heavy Separate Brigade that has been called up for active duty. The soldiers, 3,500 of which are based in North Carolina, were told to expect between twelve and eighteen months of active duty. Zack is one of Flint's three children who will be left with her husband while she is away. The mobilization is the largest for the North Carolina National Guard since World War II. REUTERS/Ellen Ozier ELO/HB