The war in Iraq has waged on for more than five years now and with it hundreds of thousands of American soldiers from across the United States have been taken away from their homes and families in order to put their lives on the line serving their country.

One area resident who knows all to well the pain of leaving his loved ones behind and the joy of returning home is Army Reserve Staff Sergeant and Saratoga Springs native Chris Callahan.

Callahan, who graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 2000, was originally activated for duty in Iraq in 2003, but eventually had his mission terminated – serving a year at Fort Hood in Texas to cover for another combat unit fighting in the war. However, in June of 2007,

Callahan was re-activated for duty – spending two months training in Wisconsin before being deployed to the war torn country in September.

“I knew it was only a matter of time before I would end up doing a tour,” he said. “The longer the war has gone on the fewer people you meet in the service who haven’t done a tour, so it kind of felt like something I needed to do to fulfill my duty.”

Leaving home was not easy for Callahan, but he says what made the experience less painful was the support he received from family and friends.

“I went through a whole range of emotions before leaving, but to say you are a combat soldier is something to be proud of, so it was something I wanted to do in a way,” he said. “But in other ways I was scared to leave my family – I was worried about not coming back as the same person and obviously there was the chance that I would not come back at all, but it wasn’t something that I tried to dwell on.”

Upon arriving in Iraq he was first stationed in Balad, a city approximately 60 miles north of Baghdad – another Iraqi city Callahan would find himself stationed in throughout his year-long tour. He admits his fears and concerns for his safety disappeared when he was introduced to his squad.

“When you first get called up you are concerned for yourself, but then once you are introduced to your squad, all your fears become more for your fellow soldiers than they do for yourself – they become your family,” he said.

On days when Callahan was stationed on base he said you could almost make yourself believe that you were still in America.

“The first place I was stationed was at an old Iraqi air base where they had constructed streets, stop signs, traffic circles, a movie theatre, a swimming pool, and a gym,” he said. “Aside from always having weapons and live ammo on you it was almost like going to a regular job where you would complete your schedule for the day and go home.”

As his family and friends of Callahan waited for his return home, time was flying by for him halfway across the world.

“It was over before I knew it and I hope it goes that way for everybody else who serves,” he said. “I always felt like I was missing so much while I was gone, but when I returned home I realized that the world hadn’t changed over night and it was nice to see that things are still the same from when I left them.”

Callahan’s year long tour ended this past June – culminating in his arrival home on Sunday, June 29 – where he was received by family, friends and strangers who had shown up to the airport in order to show their support and thank Callahan and other soldiers returning for their sacrifice.

“Returning home for good was very surreal for me because I had been given time off during my tour to visit, but it always felt rushed,” he said. “But the longer I am home the more I am getting used to being back.”

His homecoming came just five days before citizens from across the United States celebrated their independence on July 4. The city welcomed him home by featuring him in Saratoga’s Forth of July parade.

“It was a wonderful experience,” he said. “To be home for the Forth of July gave the holiday a whole new significance to me and to watch the fireworks and think about the brave men and women who are still serving over there – it just makes me hope that every soldier that comes home gets the same kind of welcome I have received here in Saratoga.”

Callahan is just one side of the story in the ongoing war on terror, for there are also those who are still waiting to be deployed to the Middle East. Fellow Saratoga Springs native Chad Corrigan is one of those soldiers waiting for deployment.

Corrigan made the decision to join the Army shortly after the attacks of 9/11, signing up for three years of active duty and five years of inactive duty – in which he was eligible to be called back for assignment until 2010.

“I always wanted to join the military and after the attacks of 9/11 I realized that I had a real purpose and I knew I had to go,” he said.

He eventually quit his job and joined the Army serving in the branch’s infantry division and ultimately receiving orders to serve in South Korea – where he served back to back patrols for approximately one year. Corrigan was discharged from active duty in 2005 – and since started a family – getting married and having daughter.

Nonetheless, a few months back Corrigan received a knock at his door, which he opened to find an envelope saying he had to report to Fort William, Georgia within two months from where he would then be deployed overseas to either to Iraq or Afghanistan.

He had the opportunity to exempt himself from serving in “Operation Iraqi Freedom” due to an injury he had sustained while training for a jiu-jitsu tournament he planned on competing in, but he decided to cancel his exemption packet and defend his country.

“I decided to cancel it because I honestly couldn’t live with the fact that the country needed me and I wasn’t going to answer the call,” he said. “It may be stupid, it may be noble, but I talked it over with my wife and we agreed that I had to do it – it’s kind of like unfinished business to me.”

Corrigan is scheduled to leave on July 20 and he will not return from either Iraq or Afghanistan for a period of 400 days.

“I don’t fear getting hurt or being separated from my wife because she has a great support system here at home and I know she will be alright, but honestly my biggest fear is my daughter not remembering me when I return home,” he said.

Aside from the great support Corrigan and his family have received since learning of his deployment, the Army has also agreed to help his family out during his absence by paying his mortgage for the next year. He will also receive family separation pay and hazard pay for serving in a combat zone.

Both soldiers have taken different paths in their pursuit to help combat terrorism, but both agree that America’s presence is needed over in Iraq.

“I decided I wouldn’t make any judgment before seeing it for myself,” Callahan said. “Now that I have been there I feel strongly about what we are doing and the progress we have made since the war started – it’s just unfortunate that a lot of times the media does not report all the good things that are happening over there.”

Throughout our country’s history, brave men and women like Callahan and Corrigan have sacrificed their lives and the sake of their families to protect their country and preserve its way of life – they are the foundation that America was built on – and their service to the American way of life is something that every citizen can be proud of.

“Every generation has gone through wars and conflicts where people have had to leave their families to go fight in, but if they hadn’t at the time we wouldn’t be living the way we are today and I am very proud to be part of that legacy,” Callahan said.