CAMP ROBINSON, AR — The mood is downright playful as the men settle into their bunks. After nine hours of travel, the soldiers of the 294th Engineer Company of the 203rd Battalion are laughing and joking and looking forward to tomorrow’s mission.

We’re at Camp Robinson, near Little Rock, Arkansas. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to our staging area in Louisiana, awaiting orders about where this group of engineers and heavy machine operators will be sent to help in the clean up after Hurricane Gustav.

For many of these guys from southwest Missouri, this is just the latest of many emergency deployments. Some were in the St. Louis area recently building levees to defend from the flooding Mississippi River. Some helped clear debris last winter following the devastating ice storms. And for some, this is their second time heading to New Orleans after a devastating hurricane.

Look for interviews, photos, and videos tomorrow. Tonight we play cards, tell dirty jokes, and dry off.