Topeka ? If the world were a more peaceful place, 19-year-old Nathan Steward would be studying biology at Kansas University this fall.

Instead, he’s preparing to go with his Kansas National Guard unit for a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, helping free up regular soldiers for duty in some of the world’s hotter spots Afghanistan, or perhaps Iraq soon.

But Steward, a 2001 graduate of Ottawa High School now living in Lawrence, doesn’t dwell on how a part-time military commitment has become a full-time interruption to the rest of his life.

“School’s always going to be there, and this is something not a lot of people get to do,” Steward said. “My stepfather’s been in (the Guard) for 34 years, and he’s never gone.”

Pfc. Steward is one of 250 members of an “aviation task force” of the First Battalion 108th Aviation who were mobilized Friday for the mission. They’ll train for a month before going to Europe, beginning a six-month stay in Bosnia after the beginning of the new year. The task force will fly Black Hawk and Apache helicopters in Bosnia, doing reconnaissance and transporting soldiers and supplies.

“When you add it all together, we’ll be on active duty for about a year,” said Lt. Col. Vic Braden, commander of the task force that also includes soldiers from Oklahoma, Texas and Vermont.

Braden, a Lawrence resident and a Jefferson County prosecutor, said the task force’s orders could be changed for a longer stay, or to a different location if the United States goes to war with Iraq.

“We are prepared for a change of mission,” Braden said. “You never say never in the military.”

The mission comes at a time when the military is increasingly relying on National Guard and reserve units to perform essential functions. The Pentagon says part-time soldiers spent a million days on duty in 1989; that increased to more than 12.5 million duty days in 2000, before the “war on terror” had even begun.

Pfc. Nathan Steward, Lawrence, center, is a member of a task force of the First Battalion 108th Aviation of the Army National Guard that will soon be placed into duty overseas. Monday, Steward and members of the unit were at Forbes Field in Topeka.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Monday there would be more reserve military call-ups. The Pentagon mobilized more than 70,000 soldiers in the Guard and Reserve for Afghanistan. The number of activated reservists now hovers around 50,000, with more expected if the U.S. decides to invade Iraq. More than 200,000 reservists were activated for the original Persian Gulf War.

Many Kansas reservists expect to be called; some who are students at Kansas University have already notified the school they expect to leave. Officials refuse to say which units will be called up next.

“There are always rumors,” Braden said.

Braden is taking a year off from his job in Oskaloosa, although federal law requires employers of National Guard and reserve soldiers to hold the job for 18 months. It’s more difficult for Braden to leave his wife and two teen-age daughters behind.

“We’ve been through this before,” he said, remembering a call-up for the Gulf War in 1991. “But as you get older, it gets harder.”

¢ U.S. Department of Defense

Others see opportunity. Warrant Officer Randy Nichols, a self-employed carpenter and farmer from Ottawa, will be flying Black Hawks in Bosnia.

“This actually benefits me quite a bit,” Nichols said. “My goal was to take up a career in flying. It’ll look good for future aviation jobs.”

It will be “rough” however, leaving his 2-year-old daughter behind. Braden, however, said it’s the choice the soldiers made.

“I’m not real excited about this,” Braden said. “This is my job and my mission, but there are sacrifices to be made.”