SALEM - Thirty-one Oregon National Guard soldiers destined to replace dead and wounded comrades in Iraq got a send-off from Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who told them to "take the humanitarian and moral values with you that you exercise at home."

"I see all that is the best of Oregon and all it means to be a citizen-soldier," the governor said Tuesday night at the Oregon National Guard headquarters in Salem.

The replacements, who wore camouflage uniforms and black berets, leave today for two weeks of training at Fort Hood, Texas, then fly directly to Baghdad. All 31 volunteered for duty in Iraq, and were assembled on only two weeks' notice.

The soldiers will join about 700 troops from the Guard's 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, which started taking casualties the day it arrived in Baghdad last spring, said Maj. Arnold Strong, the Oregon National Guard spokesman. It replaced the 1st Battalion, which came home last spring with no fatalities or serious injuries.

The 2nd Battalion has had five fatalities and about 20 wounded so far, Strong said. Several others have been injured in non-combat situations.

Strong said that one of the companies being sent is a quick-reaction force with a large number of rangers. "When it hits the fan, these are the guys they call up," he said.

About a half-dozen of the replacement soldiers have already done a tour in or near Iraq, or in Afghanistan. Many of the others are members of the 162nd who for various reasons did not leave with the rest of the battalion.

They are scheduled to return with the rest of the battalion in the spring, and will not have to serve the normal 12-month tour.

"You are deferring your dreams, but never your duty," Kulongoski told the departing infantrymen. "You have a governor and an Oregon National Guard leadership that will watch your back, that will look out for your families. You will never have to worry about that."

He repeated his pride in members of the 162nd already in Iraq, who tried to stop Iraqi prison guards from abusing civilian prisoners.

"They stepped up, and they stepped in to stop it," he said.

"I expect you to know what is right and what is wrong," he said.

"Just as the mountains, forests and coastline of Oregon are the spirit of where we are, each one of you is the spirit of who we are," Kulongoski said.

The Oregon National Guard adjutant General, Brig. Gen. Raymond Byrne, noted that this was the first time a replacement unit has been sent to beef up Oregon guardsmen since World War II.

Staff Sgt. Robert Palen, who is among those going for a second tour, said he is leaving out of "a sense of camaraderie."

"I could not in good conscience see them go while I stayed in the rear," he said.

Kulongoski recently authorized Oregon National Guard members to voluntarily extend their service beyond the usual 24-month limit, in exchange for bonus pay from the government. Guard members are being offered an extra $1,000 a month for agreeing to serve up to an additional 12 months in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The governor also said many Guard families are struggling financially, and the state is less prepared to deal with wildfires and other natural disasters with so many Guard members assigned overseas.