MILITARY 51-year-old father called to serve in Iraq with his son

The father last served in the Army in 1988.
TOLEDO (AP) -- A man who retired from the Army Reserves seven years ago has been recalled to active duty in Iraq, where a son is serving with the Marines.
His 21-year-old son is so pleased for the chance to be with his father that it's one of the reasons he extended his tour of duty for six months.
"I am pumped for dad to be activated," Cpl. Paul Skulas said via e-mail.
Maj. Ron Skulas, 51, said he was surprised when the Army notified him in April that he was being called to serve. He volunteered for active duty shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but was declined. This time, Skulas said he could have protested but chose not to.
"How can I turn down a request to go over there when my son's over there?" he asked. "It's like saying, 'I'm too good to go over there, and you're expendable.' No way."
Skulas, of Sylvania, expects to arrive in Iraq in January but isn't sure where he will be stationed. He said that even if he is posted to his son's base, they wouldn't serve side by side because they have different jobs.
Paul Skulas is an airport rescue firefighter at Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq. His father doesn't know his job yet, but it will involve training Iraqi forces to do work that the U.S. military does now.
"I'll see him off-duty time, give him a big hug and kiss when I see him, but he's got his mission, and I've got mine," he said.
Preparation
He has begun physical conditioning and doesn't want special treatment, such as shorter shifts or lighter equipment loads, because of his age. He plans to study Arabic.
Ron Skulas, whose wife died in October of a cancer-related stroke, has another son, Mark, a computer technician.
"He thinks I'm nuts," Skulas said. However, "there's no doubt in his mind that we're coming back safe and sound. There's no doubt in Paul's mind or my mind, either."
He expects to serve a year in Iraq. His son's tour is to end in February or March.
Skulas, who left active duty in the Army in 1988, runs the Language Learning Center at Bowling Green State University.