Sergeant Ronald Jackson and his stepson, Tommy Erp, leave their turkey farm, turning over control to Jackson’s wife and 63-year-old father for the year. Baptist minister Sergeant Joe Betts leaves a new church and congregation, as well as three stepchildren and a wife who is concerned about shouldering the burden of caring for their family while Joe is gone. The parents of 19-year-old Matt Hertlein are apprehensive about his deployment. Many of these soldiers have never traveled beyond the borders of Arkansas, and they face an entire year away from home. The men leave home after an emotional town gathering to see them off.