"It was my fault that I re-enlisted. It was my fault my family was going through pain," laments Sgt Darrell Graf. His family made it through the separation. Others did not. Until four years ago the National Guard weren't considered real soldiers. Reserves such as Sgt Graf, who signed up for one weekend a month suddenly found themselves deployed to Iraq. "We are being stretched, there's no question about that," admits General Steven Blum. It took Hurricane Katrina to reveal just how badly stretched the guards are. The country looked to them to restore order but in the two states hardest hit, half the Guards were deployed in Iraq and only a third of their equipment was available. Public outcry ensued. "Why aren't my sons here to go down and help these fellow Mississippians, why are they in Iraq?" questions Priscilla Ammermann. The American army is overseas at war, but at home her people are fighting battles without help. (ABC Aus)