After the 200 or so soldiers of the 145th Maintenance Company of the Army National Guard departed the Kingsbridge Armory on Nov. 19, they were unexpectedly given two leaves from duty for Thanksgiving and Christmas before eventually departing for the Middle East.

Captain Robert Zizolfo, who took command of the unit in October, described the logistics. “It was a nice collaboration between the state and the active duty chain of command, and it all happened at the last minute,” he said.

Zizolfo, who lives in Rockland County, said the return was a mixed blessing. “For some of us it was nice to go back home, but then you have to go through everything again,” he said.

As he prepared his troops for deployment, Zizolfo said before departing, “There’s always a bit of anxiety when people leave their families behind for what could be a year or more, but we’re a good company.”

On one of their last nights of civilian life, the Norwood News joined two soldiers, Sergeant Chris Perkins of Belmont and Specialist Xiomara “Sammie” Thomas, at the Land and Sea Restaurant on Broadway.

Thomas, a single parent who had to leave behind her 4-year-old son, Enrique, with her mom in Morris Park, explained, “I wasn’t a single mom when I enlisted in 1996.  I just woke up one day and decided to do it.”

Thomas, a utilities repair expert, said shortly before departing, “Besides my family, I’ll miss the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Garden.”

Members would soon be training at Camp Smith in Putnam County, where they practiced basic first aid while dressed in protective suits designed for a chemical weapons attack.  They boarded a plane in Georgia on Jan. 21, and members arrived in Kuwait 16 hours later.

When contacted via the Internet on Jan. 25, Perkins said from Kuwait, “The food is good, actually. It rained before we got here so it’s like walking around in wet cement.” He added, “We have nothing but time. We have been given this time to [get acclimated] and get over the jet lag.”  From an Internet cafe in Kuwait, Perkins said, “We are sleeping all day and watching movies, shopping and getting all of our paperwork straight.”

Perkins, who grew up on Hull Avenue in Norwood, said his unit was expected to depart Kuwait for a three-day training exercise on Jan. 27, and expected to be headed for Iraq shortly after that.

Zizolfo, Perkins and members of the unit have agreed to stay in touch with the Norwood News to share their thoughts and experiences from the supply lines, where they will fix weapons, radios, jeeps and tanks in the campaign for the next 12 to 18 months.