CONCORD – Even as 16 New Hampshire National Guardsmen were honored yesterday for their service in Afghanistan, plans to send more local Guardsmen to two war zones between now and 2010 already were in the works.

That includes shipping more than 100 Milford-based soldiers to Afghanistan in spring 2010, the New Hampshire Sunday News has learned.

Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Shangraw, who returned from Afghanistan in May, will be part of that 2010 deployment.

"I'm looking forward to going back," said the Maine resident, who grew up in Lebanon, N.H. "It was very rewarding ... the sense of purpose and pride in what I did."

Shangraw's job included training Afghan police recruits, duties he will resume when he goes back. The group of 16 honorees also helped in distributing school and other supplies to children.

He said he was torn between wanting more American troops in Afghanistan and fewer.

►Procession for long-missing U.S. soldier from Lawrence, Mass.

"We want (Afghanis) to raise up their own country," he said. At the same time, he said, more U.S. troops would help spread the work needed to train the Army and police.

This week, 25 Air National Guardsmen from the 157th Security Forces out of Pease will deploy to Iraq, according to Maj. Gregory Heilshorn, state public affairs officer for the New Hampshire National Guard.

Next month, another 16 will be sent to Afghanistan to train Afghani army and police.

In early 2009, 10 Guardsmen from the 114th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment out of Concord will go to Iraq.

And in the spring of 2010, more than 100 members of C Company, 3rd, of the 172nd Infantry Regiment out of Milford, will be deployed to Afghanistan. They will provide security, mentoring and patrols, Heilshorn said.

Currently, the New Hampshire Army National Guard has 20 members stationed in Afghanistan and three in Iraq. The NH Air National Guard has one in Afghanistan, two in Iraq and one in Italy.

Yesterday, Shangraw and 15 other New Hampshire National Guardsmen were thanked for their 12 months in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is a little bit better off because of what you've done," Gov. John Lynch told them.

Sen. John Sununu said the solders "left behind a country that is more stable and secure." Their work and the work of others like them have prevented any terrorist attacks in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001, Sununu said.

Sgt. Maj. Dave Stevens helped build a school for Afghani elementary students. People in the Rochester area donated 1,400 backpacks filled with school supplies for the Afghanis.

Stevens said he had missed more than half the life of his 2 1/2 year-old daughter, Jadyn.

Soldier families left behind adapted to having loved ones serving abroad.

Stevens' 20-year-old son, Joseph, left dorm life at the University of New Hampshire after his freshman year to move home to Rochester to help his family while his dad was away. Shovel snow, mow the grass and "help watch my sister, too," were among the younger man's duties, he said.

Joseph Stevens said he was "pretty worried" about his dad, especially when his father's daily phone calls were replaced with weeks of silence while out on missions.

Sgt. Stevens said he believes Afghanistan could use more American soldiers and knows New Hampshire Guardsmen will be part of that mission.

"There's no doubt: Obviously we're going to have more deployments," he said.