HILO, Hawai'i — Black Hawk helicopter pilots, mechanics, crew chiefs and others in a Hilo-based Hawai'i Army National Guard unit were activated yesterday in preparation for a year-long tour of duty in Iraq at a base north of Baghdad.

The pilots with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, expect to fly "general aviation" missions in Iraq, ferrying troops and equipment around the country in support of ground troops in the 4-year-old war.

About 70 soldiers were activated in a ceremony in a Hilo hangar yesterday, and most will be flown with the unit's seven Black Hawk helicopters on C-5 Galaxy transport planes to Fort Sill, Okla., today for training. The last of the soldiers and helicopters are expected to leave Hilo later this week, said National Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony.

Watching the ceremony from the side was Sgt. Nicole Cann-Perreira, with her arms around her 8-year-old daughter, Pau'ahilani.

Cann-Perreira will not be on this deployment, but her husband and Pau'ahilani's father, Sgt. Clayton Perreira, will. Their 10-year-old son, Po'okela, was in tears after the ceremony, but the deployment was no surprise to the adults, Cann-Perreira said.

Clayton Perreira is a UH-60 Black Hawk mechanic — a high-demand specialty in the war zone — and "we knew it would come along eventually," she said. "Actually, we thought it would come a lot sooner."

"I'm glad my husband's able to go," she said. "It's a duty and an honor for us to have him going. My kids are upset that he's going to be so far away, they're sad, but it's part of our job, our duty."

The soldiers are from the Big Island and O'ahu, with a few from the Mainland, and are expected to remain on active duty for 16 to 18 months. After several months of training in Oklahoma, the unit is expected to leave for Iraq sometime this summer, Anthony said.

About 20 of the soldiers awaiting deployment yesterday have already served in Iraq or Afghanistan. One of those was Chief Warrant Officer Benjamin Kelly, 28, who spent a tour in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2003, repairing helicopters.

Kelly later applied to become a pilot, and has been flying Black Hawks for about 18 months.

"I'm a little more nervous about Iraq than I was about Afghanistan, but at the same time, I have a good feeling for what to expect as far as the deployment," Kelly said. "It's good money, and I'm looking forward to seeing the country. I've talked to people who've been there, and flying you can see the whole county, so I'm looking forward to that."

Kelly has a wife and and 4-month-old baby waiting for him at home in Hilo. His wife is not happy about the deployment, but "she's been there before, and is handling it much better this time," he said.

With the troops standing in formation before him, Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, commander of the Hawai'i National Guard, reminded family members and supporters that Charlie company has already earned the gratitude of Hawai'i residents.

In 2006 alone, soldiers in the unit were mobilized to provide support after the Kaloko dam breach on Kaua'i; to help after the flooding on O'ahu and Kaua'i in March and April; to handle medevac missions on O'ahu; and to help in the response to the Kiholo earthquakes off the Kona Coast on Oct. 15.

"I guess the silver living is that all this flying that you did in 2006 really improved the proficiency of this unit," he said. Lee praised the soldiers as "this outstanding unit that we honor this morning as we bid them farewell. You've all answered your country's call to duty."

Lee said the unit is expected to be based at Logistics Support Area Anaconda at Balad, which served as the base of operations for all of the other Hawai'i Army National Guard units that have already gone to Iraq.

Among those awaiting deployment were Matthew Lowe, 43, and his son Cody Lowe, both of 'Ewa Beach.

Cody, 21, is a private first class and a Black Hawk mechanic who wants to be a pilot. Matthew is a staff sergeant who was married three weeks ago, and has served in the Middle East in 1991 and again in 1993.

Matthew Lowe could have retired but instead extended his military service by a year so he could deploy with his son. They joked that deploying together means Cody will be able to keep his father honest when Matthew starts telling fantastic war stories years from now.

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim told the soldiers he wanted them to know "how much we appreciate you, how much pride we have in you, and how much we love you."

"I feel grateful to each and every one of you, and we'll pray for each and every one of you until we can have a ceremony welcoming you all back," he said.

So far, an estimated 2,700 of the 3,000 Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers have been deployed in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The largest single deployment was the call-up of more than 2,000 soldiers in the 29th Brigade Combat Team in 2005 and 2006 for duty in Iraq.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.