SOUTH BEND — Some local soldiers are preparing to head to Iraq. But before they do that, they're spending the holidays with friends and family.

The soldiers came home from training at Camp Atterbury on Saturday. On January 2, they'll say their goodbyes from the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

But on Christmas Eve, the thought of heading off to war is something the soldiers and their families are trying to put aside.

"If I think about it, it'll come by real quick," said Company A soldier Spc. Brandon Fleming. "And I don't want it to. I'm trying to stay here as long as I can."

Fleming knows he'll be in Iraq soon enough. But for now, he's trying to play with his kids as much as he can, and spend a lot of time with his wife Kimberly.

"I think at the last minute, that's when it's going to hit me," Kimberly told WSBT. "That's when I'm going to realize that he's really leaving."

She says her biggest fear is that her husband will get hurt. Kimberly knows life will be harder for her while Brandon is overseas.

"Dealing with the kids by myself, that's going to be the most challenging part. Just not having him here to help me out," she said.

The couple already has 4-year-old Breniya and 9-month-old Sinaeya. Their third child, a boy, is due in March.

Brandon said he feels badly leaving his family for a year.

"But then again, it's for the better," he said. "I'll be able to support them financially."

The Flemings do get to spend Christmas and New Year's together, just like all the other Company A families.

"That's what the holidays to me are about," Brandon told WSBT. "You know, spending time with the family. It just means a lot to me that we get to come home."

But even the joy of being together on Christmas is over-shadowed by the thought of saying goodbye.

Company A is scheduled to leave from the RCA Dome on January 2. They'll be making history because they're part of a larger group of 3,500 soldiers leaving from Indiana.

It's the largest single deployment from Indiana since World War II.

From the RCA dome, Company A will head to Georgia for more training. From there, they're heading overseas sometime in early 2008.