As the youngest person at the Madison National Guard Armory on Saturday and the only one wearing a pink jumper, 5-month-old Siannah Schmidt drew a crowd of admirers wanting to hold her.

But as the clock neared 1 p.m., her dad, Capt. Jonathon Schmidt of Spring Green, took her back into his arms.

"I need these last five minutes for myself," he told a fellow soldier.

Twenty-three soldiers, including Schmidt, left Madison on Saturday afternoon for a one-year tour in Iraq, part of a call-up of 3,200 members of the 32nd Red Arrow Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

A majority of the soldiers live in Wisconsin.

A ceremony at the Dane County Coliseum on Tuesday with politicians and band music was the public send-off.

Now, over a span of about 10 days, private, staggered departures are taking place across the state as small groups of soldiers board buses for Fort McCoy, about 35 miles east of La Crosse.

They will then fly from Volk Field at Camp Douglas, Wis., to Fort Bliss in Texas, and then on to Iraq.

"This is the tough stuff," said Lt. Col. Michael J. George, 51, of Monona, as he watched members of the group he commands mingling with their spouses and children at the armory Saturday. "Families adapt and fall into different routines, but the goodbyes, they're always the hardest."

Some opted to forgo the stress of prolonged farewells.

"It's easier if you just have them drop you off, say your goodbyes and be gone," said Sgt. First Class Mark Simon, 41, of Oak Creek, the father of a 4-month-old son.

His wife and in-laws brought him to the armory but didn't stay.

"They get to make it home before they realize I'm leaving," he said.

Some soldiers may get a 15-day leave at some point during the year to return to the U.S., but "that's a long way off," said Master Sgt. Andrew Phelps, 47, of Stoughton, who is on his third lengthy deployment.

He's decided not to take a leave if offered one.

Junior soldiers should get the first crack, Phelps said, and there's a downside to coming back for a brief visit. "It's another round of goodbyes."

For most of the 23 who left Saturday, this will be their second tour in Iraq.

Schmidt, 31, the father of Siannah, was single during his first tour in 2004. He found out a year ago that he likely would be redeployed.

A few weeks later, he learned his wife, Melissa, was pregnant with their first child.

"Last time was so much easier because I didn't have all this in the back of my mind," he said.

As the soldiers lined up in the armory to depart, they faced a banner reading, "Make it home. Be safe."

At 1:26 p.m., the bus pulled out of the lot. Family members lingered, hugging and crying, the snow falling around them.