Staff Sgt. Ross Rund, who completed a tour in Iraq three years ago, said he is looking forward to his National Guard unit's next deployment.

"It is going to be a peacekeeping mission, which is different from what we did in Iraq," said Rund, a full-time readiness officer for Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment. "Basically I'm just looking forward to having the four seasons, to have some grass and some scenery to look at. I think it should be a very good deployment."

The Illinois Army National Guard announced Wednesday that about 150 members of the 106th Regiment will begin a yearlong deployment in late March, with about 10 months to be spent in Kosovo.

Rund said about half the members of Delta Company, a helicopter maintenance unit based in Decatur, are slated for this deployment.

The pilots and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters will be supplied by Chicago-based Bravo Company, which will be deployed in full strength. The administrative duties will be handled by the battalion's Peoria-based headquarters company, which will send some of its members.

Alpha Company, the Decatur-based flight company, is not slated to take part in this deployment, Rund said.

Staff Sgt. Mike Chrisman, a National Guard public affairs officer who recently completed a tour in Iraq, said the 106th will spend about two months training at Camp Atterbury, Ind., before shipping out to Kosovo.

"The entire tour will be one year," Chrisman said.

In the past, some deployments have lasted longer than a year, as one-year tours were formerly measured "boots on the ground," not including stateside training. The 106th regiment's tour in Iraq lasted 13 months.

Of course, there is no certainty in military life.

"Everything is subject to change," Chrisman said.

The 106th soldiers will join a 1,600-member task force, Kosovo Force 10. The task force is one of five multinational units, led by NATO, to provide security for Kosovo. The 106th Aviation Regiment will move peacekeepers and supplies around Kosovo, a Serbian province. The task force has been operating in Kosovo, under a United Nations mandate, since 1999.

Rund, who lives in rural Monticello with his wife and three young children, said the children, from 4 to 8 years old, understand enough about war and peace to appreciate this deployment.

"I think it's quite a bit of relief," he said. "Having gone to Iraq and coming back, they watch the news and are old enough to know what's going on. I think they are relieved I'm not going to Iraq."

Some of the other soldiers also are relieved.

"Our operation tempo will be slower than it was in Iraq," Rund said.

Delta Company worked around the clock during its Iraq stint, servicing 44 helicopters, which were flying constantly.

"We have a lot of new people in the company, so it should be a great training opportunity for those guys," Rund said. "We have quite a few young people. About half are the Iraq vets, and about half are either new to the Guard or new to the aircraft."

Rund said there is still some violence in Kosovo, the former Yugoslavian province that was torn apart by wars in the 1990s, but nearby nations are peaceful enough for Rund to think about a possible reunion with his family during his tour.

"We could meet in Germany or Italy for leave," Rund said.

Huey Freeman can be reached at hfreeman@herald-review.com or 421-6985.