"We've been here 40 years, so we're almost locals," says Mary. John's brothers Frank and Andrew have also served in Iraq; in fact Lieutenant Colonel Frank Walton is there now. "My brother and I met up here in Iraq at Christmas, which was definitely unusual, but great," says John.

Walton's mission on this fourth tour is to train Iraqi security forces. "We've partnered with both the Iraqi army and the police forces, and we're working on combined operations and patrols, looking to get them to a level where they function on their own."

Major Walton sees huge differences between Iraq 2010 and the war-torn country he first saw in 2003.

"I got here about five months after the invasion, with the 10th Mounted Division," he recalls. "There was no Iraqi army, minimal police. I remember trying to stand up some semblance of an army force. This was south of Baghdad then, and the number of attacks on us and the fledgling Iraqi forces was high."

Part of the problem then was the legacy from Saddam Hussein's 25-year reign of terror.

"The infrastructure was so dilapidated. Everything had been neglected for so long. We knew it was going to take a long time to repair things and bring it back," says Walton.

Roll forward seven years and Walton sees big changes. "What a difference. It's not the same Iraq as when I first came. Iraqi forces now can conduct unilateral operations, which they could not do then. They have real command and control now. Their governance structure is fledgling still, but it is operating.

"Of course," Walton admits, "there are problems. Corruption remains, but it's like night and day compared to 2003."

Among the problems Iraq faces is drought.

"They call it a 10-year drought here, and they're at year eight or nine. In our province, we see signs of that. There are significant desert areas where the villages depend on canals to bring them water, but the levels are down, and they're receiving very little. It's a significant problem."

Walton can see the changes very clearly there, in Diyala province. "It was a hotbed for sectarian violence between '06 and '08, but things have definitely changed here. The violence has quieted down, though there's still some tension under the surface, and the attacks on us have declined considerably. We're working with our local mayor — he is in charge of several villages, and we have a great working relationship, across the board, with his staff. That's the difference, and believe me, it helps a lot."

Major Walton will be in Iraq for most of this coming year, before he returns home to his fiancée in America. He will be getting married shortly after his return.

Back home, his mother Mary Walton keeps the home fires burning. "I have six children, 15 grandkids. All my kids went through Pine Bush Schools. It's a great school system and was a very nice experience for the family. All three of my boys went to West Point, and two of my daughters married West Point graduates, and one of them is still in the service. The other is a major in the National Guard."

Originally from Queens, New York, and married to a native of Louisiana, Mary says, "It's a great community here. People are wonderful, and so kind. They are always asking after the boys, and that helps…because people are concerned. It's a volunteer army, not a draft army, so most people don't have a direct connection, but friends and neighbors still ask about them and that is great."

Asked about the anxiety that comes with being the mother of military men, she says, "We worry all the time, but prayer is the thing that keeps you sane. And I would just ask all our friends to keep them in your prayers."