Three days before MSU police officer Travis Schuler was told he had to report to begin his journey to Iraq, he called his close buddy MSU police officer Danial Munford to deliver the news.

Munford said the family always knew there was a chance Schuler's reserve unit would be called up as the United States had moved closer to war, but when the news of his deployment hit home on Jan. 14, it was harder to take than he thought.

"I broke down and cried for him," Munford said. "I cried the entire night at work, it was hard to stay the entire night. I was scared for him. I never thought that anything was going to happen in Iraq, but yet he was going to be gone for over a year."

Munford said he had difficulty understanding why Schuler's unit was becoming involved so quickly and why his reserve unit was being called before regular troops. The unit trained at Fort Custer in Augusta, Mich., before beginning the trip overseas.

Munford realized Schuler's unit is one of only three bridge-building companies in the world. Schuler was one of the first marines to set foot in Iraq.

Schuler confided in Munford that he was scared and that he didn't know what to expect because the activation instructions were vague.

"He initially said he did not want to go, but realized it was his duty," Munford said. "I think that was the initial shock of the whole activation, because three days later when I saw him he was extremely proud of being able to serve his country. That was more like the Travis I knew. He is only 23 years old - I would be scared, too."

Mary Ball, a Sturges resident, talked to her son Thursday and said he and his fellow Marines are in great spirits. They have been in the Middle East since February.

"He said that we could basically stop sending him boxes now," Ball said. "I guess he was pretty well overwhelmed with boxes because he had so many of them. He didn't say anything about letters because we send him letters every day."

She has received six letters since Schuler left during the winter - but only one since the war started March 19.

Ball was devastated when she heard her son would be heading off to war. Like Munford, she knew it was a possibility, but couldn't grasp it when it happened.

"Before he left he explained to me that he didn't think that he would be in the frontlines because he was a bridge-builder," said Ball, who heard the news her son was in Iraq on a national television program. "Then he was on the front line. It was like, 'Whoa.' I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand.

"I would have been a wreck. I was a wreck already, but I would have been more of a wreck if I known that."

Ball takes pride in the fact that when her son, who has been in the marines for five years, returns from the war, he will continue protecting the country by going back to being an MSU police officer, which she says was always Schuler's dream.

Although she knows the dangers involved in being a marine and a police officer, she has handled them the best way a mother can.

"I have my fears about that but he's been very well-trained in that area and I have my faith in God, and I just know that God will take care of him. God has gotten him through the war and I know God will continue to be by him."

When he returns, Schuler can look forward to parties by his family, friends, and of course, his fellow officers, MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap said.

Schuler was one the first officers Dunlap hired when he took over the police department reins last summer.

Dunlap affectionately calls Schuler the "Travmyster."

"He's very much a people person," Dunlap said. "We got a big fund started to have a big picnic for him when he gets back."