Brian Albert Broom/The Clarion-Ledger Lt. Dana Pierce makes the most of his time with his family during a morning Bible study. Pierce

RICHLAND — The Bible passage is most appropriate — Matthew, first chapter.

"It talks about the reasons we do things for other people," says Dana Pierce, who is sitting with his family around the kitchen table, studying the Scripture. "It talks about how when we help someone, we should have a certain attitude. We shouldn't do it for accolades. We should do it because it is right."

Lately, Pierce has been trying to spend a lot more time with his family. He knows he may be leaving them — again. It's not because he wants to, but because he believes it's right.

He's a member of the National Guard, and his unit, back for only a year since its last deployment, is preparing to leave home for a second time.

Two weeks ago, 40-year-old 1st Lt. Dana Pierce was working, driving his FedEx truck, when the call came.

Yes, he said. He understood. He would get ready.

He hung up and called his wife, Sharon.

"I got a phone call today," he said. "And you know what it is."

His unit, the National Guard's 220th Finance Detachment based in Jackson, was put on alert, and the 35 members were told to start preparing for possible deployment.

It had only been a year since the group returned from a nine-month deployment to Bosnia as part of a peacekeeping mission in 2002.

"It's not fair," said Pierce's 10-year-old daughter Olivia. "We don't want him to go again. Why does it have to happen to us again?"

The family sat down the next morning and discussed the news. Pierce made it clear it was only a possibility he could be deployed again, that he did not know where he may be going, if called upon.

But it didn't matter. Dad could still be gone for another long period of time.

The tears flowed.

Olivia is the crier. Her big sister, 14-year-old Arielle, gets angry. Little brother Simon, 9, gets scared.

After hearing the news, he went to school, put his head on his desk and cried.

"You have to approach it like it's 'When and where is he going?' — not if he's going," said Sharon Pierce, 39. "And you have to think that when he leaves, he may not be coming back. That's what makes us all emotional."

What makes it worse for the Pierces is that they've already been through this once before. In a way, they know what to expect if Dana Pierce deploys.

But is it better to know how much something hurts?

Mississippi National Guard spokesman Maj. Danny Blanton said only one of the state's Guard units has been deployed, returned and been redeployed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

If the troops in the 220th are deployed — and they should find out if they will be in the next two weeks — then they would be the second.

"When you're on alert, you're making preparations to leave," Blanton said. "You're reviewing medical files, making sure soldiers are fit to go. You're checking equipment. You're getting all your legal documents in order. Personally, you're preparing your family of the likelihood that you're leaving."

Blanton said the Mississippi National Guard and Air National Guard have deployed more than 3,000 troops from its six bases since Operation Iraqi Freedom began — about 23 percent of its total force. About 2,600 have served overseas — 1,300 in Kuwait or Iraq — making it the state's largest deployment since the Korean War.

"The Guard is a 'Break Glass in Case of Emergency' group," said 1st Sgt. Darrell Masterson, a member of the Clinton-based 114th Military Police, the first unit to be redeployed.

"That's what you sign up for," he said. "Does it make it any easier to leave your family behind? No. But if I were asked to leave again tomorrow, I would."

The soldiers in the 114th were home just 46 days between a seven-month stint in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a six-month tour at Fort Campbell, Ky. They then spent 11 months in Fort Hood, Texas.

"The biggest thing you can do is always be prepared to go," said Masterson, who has deployed four times. "And you cannot have any loose ends with your family. Get organized. Leave no issues behind. You hate to take any extra baggage with you. But if you get the call, you go."

Sgt. 1st class Randy Breland is waiting for the call, too.

Breland, another member of the 220th, is friends with Pierce, and also knows what it's like to tell his wife and three children he may be leaving again.

"They're the real heroes," said Breland, 39. "Those wives and children that stay behind, waiting for their people to come home."

Breland, a Vicksburg native who's been in the Guard for 17 years, said he didn't get what he expected when he called other members of the unit.

"I thought they would groan," he said. "But I told them we were on alert, and they just said, 'No problem.' We're all ready to do what we have to do."

Reginald Saville, spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in Washington, said units are deployed more than once because there is a strong need for their particular services.

Pentagon officials said there have been only a small percentage of Army National Guard units to deploy more than once since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.

Exact figures were not available. But more than 42,000 guard members are on duty in Iraq today.

And while some officials were concerned so many deployments would cause attrition and decrease Guard participation, Saville said they are not necessarily stretching the Guard too thin.

"We really haven't ever seen this kind of participation for anything in the Guard," Saville said. "We're in unknown territory. But our numbers are still looking pretty good."

According to Saville, the Guard likes to keep about 350,000 total troops. Right now, the number is around 345,000 — better than what was expected after the latest troop rotation.

"All of this is being dealt with as we speak," he said. "Recruiting and retention is always a major concern, especially after the number of troops that have been deployed."

Dana Pierce knows it may be difficult on his family, but he got into the Guard to defend the country.

Born in Jackson, Pierce always wanted to serve in the Guard, partly because his father served in Korea and Vietnam.

Now he's a nine-year Guard veteran, and he says he will serve for at least 10 more years.

"The first time you're called, it's a shock," he said. "But I didn't get in the Guard to help pay tuition. I did it because I believe in helping America."

His wife agreed.

"People asked me when he returned from his first deployment if I would try to convince him to leave the Guard," Sharon says. "But this is a part of him. And we're proud."

When Pierce deployed in 2002, it took a toll on his family.

His son, Simon, couldn't sleep alone, so he always crawled into bed with his mother. Daughter Arielle became angry and was disciplined when she talked back in school. Olivia, the middle child, cried easily.

"But then we realized that other people were going through the same thing," Arielle said.

Sharon Pierce said her family relied on church and other military support groups to help make it through.

Now, Simon is again afraid his Dad will leave.

"It feels bad," he said. "Sometimes I break out in tears."