Larry Kazmierzak spent the past 10 months maintaining the radar and air traffic control tower throughout northern Iraq.

The Greenwood resident was in charge of keeping the system running for the military aircraft coming in and out of Mosul Airfield, all the while worrying about rocket attacks from insurgents.

But despite the wartime dangers that came with the job, maybe the most difficult aspect was working side-by-side in a combat zone with his twin 23-year-old daughters, Kari and Ashley.

"It was different for me. You can't show favoritism, but you still have to be a father when they were off-duty sometimes," Larry Kazmierzak said. "A lot of times, I had to walk on egg shells."

The Kazmierzaks, who all live in Greenwood, all were assigned to the same unit and served at the same base in Mosul, Iraq. They had to deal not only with the rigors and dangers of military service but balancing the military responsibilities with family bonds.

As part of F Company of the 3-238th Aviation Battalion, an Indiana National Guard unit based at Camp Atterbury, they left for Iraq in April 2009.

Kari worked with radar, Ashley was an air traffic controller, and Larry oversaw the operation of both aspects. Together with their company, they were charged with air traffic control for nearly all of Iraq north of Baghdad.

In the Kazmierzak family, military service has become a tradition. Larry, 50, has served for the past 28 years in a combination of active duty Indiana National Guard and National Reserve. He had been deployed overseas once before, to Bosnia in 2004.

That trip inspired Kari and Ashley to enlist for the Indiana National Guard. The girls were students at Greenwood Community High School at the time and saw the camaraderie that came with their father's unit training together at Camp Atterbury.

"They were around a lot, and we wanted to be a part of it," Kari said.

The sisters enlisted the same day their father's unit left for its Bosnian mission. They had agreed to go together, but at the last minute, Ashley changed her mind, backing out to instead be with her then-boyfriend.

"Mainly, I signed up because of my sister. She wanted to go, and I was going to do it with her," Kari said. "Then she ran off. We got kind of turned around a little bit, but at least she came back."

After two years, Ashley returned and joined the National Guard. Both trained to work in air traffic control, which meant they would be assigned to the same unit as their father.

"I was happy to do something with the military. I'd been in for six years and haven't really done anything, just the traditional guard weekends," Kari said.

They were assigned to Forward Operating Base Diamondback, which had been set up around the airfield in Mosul.

Because it was an airfield, the base was a prime target for insurgent forces in northern Iraq. On near-daily basis, enemy troops would pepper the base with incoming fire and rocket attacks.

A month before their unit arrived at the base, a U.S. soldier was killed in a rocket attack.

None of the Kazmierzaks were hurt, but Larry admits to numerous close calls that left him on edge.

Being in a war zone together as a family was simultaneously beneficial and difficult, Larry said. The family support was comforting during the heavier attacks, and being together helped ward off any homesickness.

Though they all were assigned different jobs, they were able to meet up when their schedules allowed it.

Kari and Ashley saw each other often, as they worked the same hours and were roommates.

"We had the normal sibling fights, but all in all, it was better than being with someone else that you didn't know," Ashley said.

All three had to battle the assumption from the rest of the unit that Kari and Ashley were receiving special treatment.

"It's perception. If I talk to them a little bit more than someone else, they think that's favoritism. It's the balancing act," Larry said.

The Kazmierzaks returned home from Iraq on Feb. 7. After an initial debriefing, they have been working to make the transition from wartime service to civilian life.

Kari and Ashley were busy making their own living arrangements, so they could move out of their parents' house. With six months of paid health insurance from the military, they also were scheduling doctors visits and dental checkups.

All three family members are on leave and won't have to report back to the military until May. Ashley is looking into enrolling at IUPUI to take nursing classes. Kari is making arrangements to return to her job as a supervisor for the Kohl's.

Larry, who works for Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, eventually will return to his job, though he plans to wait a few weeks while he tries to reorganize after nearly a year away from home.

"I'm still getting adjusted to things. I've been in here, cleaning up since we've come back," he said.

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