For newly-married couple Alisa (nee McLeod) and Jake Sonnenberg, they're preparing to return to school at Minot State University, and for Jake to be soon on his way to Iraq as a combat medic.

The couple were married in Weyburn on Saturday, and were back in Minot this week to set up their residence, and to prepare for Jake's leaving some time in October for an 18-month period.

The first six months are to be an intensive training period in the southern U.S. with the U.S. Army National Guard unit, before his unit is sent over to Iraq for a one-year tour of duty.

Alisa, a Comp School graduate, is the daughter of Scott and Bonnie McLeod of Weyburn, and is in her third year of study at Minot State University as a speech and language pathologist. Jake is from Detroit Lakes, Minn., and has one year left in his criminal justice program.

He is half-way through a six-year contract with the National Guard, which up to now included basic training in Texas, and once-a-month training exercises plus a yearly two-week training time with his unit.

The six-month training he will be leaving for will include scenarios he is likely to encounter during his tour in Iraq, such as how to deal with combat situations, including hidden explosive devices.

The couple did have some prior warning beforehand of Jake's tour of duty, as his unit was informed in April they would be called for service, and both recalled discussing it before deciding to tie the knot. They were engaged in June.

"I asked her several times before we got married, even before we were engaged, and she said she was okay with it," said Jake.

"It's so different being Canadian, it's like night and day. You just never think your husband is going to go off and be in a combat zone. It's kind of scary and different," said Alisa.

She noted that experience with war seemed to have skipped a generation, where her parents did not grow up knowing war, but her grandparents did live through the Second World War.

"We've been kind of preparing for it as best we can. Me going over there just means somebody else can come home to their family. It really hasn't come full circle to us yet, until you get to that day. We're just enjoying the time that we've got," said Jake.

He added that communications is the biggest hurdle he'll have to overcome while in Iraq. Cell phones can't be used, and satellite phones are very costly, so land lines are used, and the Internet, when it's available, to send e-mails. Jake said with the line-up to use the Internet, people prepare their e-mails on their laptops ahead of time, so when their turn comes, they can just send it over.

"And there'll be letters, lots of letters," added Alisa.

While in Iraq, Jake will be with an evacuation team, while other medics from his unit will travel with infantry units. As a medic, Jake won't be in combat as such, and is not allowed to fire a weapon unless it's to protect his patients, if they are taking direct fire.

From what he's been told, including by other unit guardsmen who have done a tour in Iraq, most of the patients being treated are Iraqi citizens, due to the ongoing bombings and hidden explosive devices.

A big part of their time there will also be how to deal with down-time, according to veterans of tours to Afghanistan and Kosovo. Jake is hoping he will be able to do his final year of courses for his degree while he's there, using computers and the Internet.

Noting there are many protests against the Iraqi involvement by the U.S., Jake said he really doesn't have a view as to whether it's a just war or not.

"We just follow orders. The action is more to put in a stable government. They put together a constitution, and they're trying to get their army together. It's tough to do that when they keep getting attacked by insurgents," said Jake.

The heat and the sand will be hard to deal with, he noted. The sand gets ground finely like flour, "and it gets in everywhere. It even gets into zip-lock bags."

For the heat, the training will be in hotter regions of the U.S. to help condition the soldiers before they land in Iraq. In addition, Jake said there will be experienced men going with his unit who know what to expect and how to handle different situations, and "that makes me feel more comfortable with what we're doing."

With the proliferation of bombs, including booby-traps, they will have basic rule-of-thumb to abide by, he said: "If you didn't put it there, don't pick it up. I'm more worried about getting blown up than getting shot."

For Alisa at home, there is a support group of the wives and girlfriends of the Guardsmen who are going over, plus the Army will pay them a separation allowance, and Jake's schooling is paid for by the Army as well.