FORT CARSON - Eric Altreche, 10, knows why his dad is returning to Iraq in December.

"He has to go. It's his job to protect the country," said Eric, a fifth- grader at Widefield Elementary School.

Eric's dad, Chief Warrant Officer Nicholas Altreche, is among 3,700 soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division heading to Iraq in December for up to 15 months. For about 1,500 of the soldiers, including Altreche, this is their third tour.

Altreche also was among soldiers who cleared the Taliban and al-Qaida out of Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"It's kind of like being a plumber. You have to do a septic tank once in a while," Altreche, 41, said Tuesday.

"I have to go back. It's my job, and I'll continue to do so as long as I'm in the military."

Members of Altreche's unit learned July 31 they were being redeployed in December. They were prepared to leave for Iraq this month but got a reprieve when the miliary announced soldiers will get a year at home between tours in Iraq.

Members of the 3rd Brigade returned from the unit's second deployment just before Thanksgiving. Their first deployment was part of the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003.

New role is risky

Altreche's commanding officer, Col. John Hort, told reporters Tuesday that the unit's role will be slightly different this time. They'll be spending more time meeting Iraqis in Baghdad neighborhoods as part of a strategy to win local support, Hort said.

That strategy risks attack from people who don't want Americans in Iraq, Hort said.

"I obviously don't like it very much," Altreche's wife, Shawna, 31, said of the new deployment. "I worry all the time." The Altreches were eating in a dining hall, where Hort spoke to the media.

In addition to Eric, Shawna will be taking care of Aaron, 9, and Lindsey, 12. They are also in Widefield schools. Two grown children do not live at home.

Shawna, who grew up in Houston, works for a telecommunications firm.

Raising a family alone is difficult, she said. Eric and his siblings helped their mom move the family from Texas to Colorado during Nicholas' last deployment to Iraq. Eric promised to help her around the house this time, too.

"I miss him a lot," Eric said.

The Altreches, married since 1999, communicate by e-mail when Nicholas is away.

They also send handwritten letters, like couples in America's previous wars."She makes me keep every letter," Altreche said.

He joined the Army after Iraq invaded Kuwait, setting off the Gulf War in 1991. He was working as an electrician for the state of Texas at the time.

"I was a recruiter's dream," Altreche said. "I walked into the office and said, 'When do I leave?' "

Actually, the war was over so quickly, Altreche never got to go. He served in Somalia, Bosnia and South Korea.

'Lucky I'm still here'

He is with the artillery. He selects the targets.

So far, he's unscathed.

During his first deployment to Iraq, the unit was stationed in Samarra, two hours north of Baghdad.

The unit was taking three mortar rounds a day for months. "It was a bad place to be," he said. "You could call it lucky I'm still here."

Altreche said he's optimistic the United States will prevail in Iraq. American troops win most of the confrontations with the terrorists, although that doesn't always get through to the folks at home, he said.

"My biggest heartburn with the media is that we've never lost a battle, yet we're getting defeated in the media. I don't understand that for the life of me," he said.

The war is worth fighting, he said. A stable Iraq will be an American ally, able to police terrorism within its own borders and be a force against terrorism in the region.

Most soldiers understand the mission, Altreche said.

"We all knew what we were doing there," he said.

When the next deployment ends, Altreche will be about 18 months from retirement.

"I told him, once he gets out of the Army, he's never going away again," Shawna Altreche said.

On the front lines

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

3,700 on base at Fort Carson

• Next deployment: Iraq in December

40 percent are going for a third tour of duty.

20 percent for the second time

40 percent for a first tour

Previous deployments and fatalities:

35 killed between March 2003 and April 2004.

18 killed between November 2005 and November 2006.

$600 is the amount soldiers receive each month in combat pay. It includes a separation allowance and hazardous-duty pay.

$3.50 is paid for every day they spent in Iraq, after they return.

$10,000 is the maximum amount that can be placed in an Army savings account that pays 10 percent interest. The payments and the interest are tax-free.Source: Army Spokesman

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303 954-5209

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