Kim May is a civil engineer specializing in septic tanks and drainage systems. His Port Orchard home doubles as his office. He's the secretary, coffee maker and CEO.
In 2003, when the National Guard called May to go to Iraq for a year, his one-man company went into hibernation.
And the 48-year-old sergeant and father of two wasn't sure it would ever revive.
"He told me, 'I've been at this eight years, and now I've got to give it all up,' " said Kurt MacKenzie, who owns a rival septic and drainage company. "That's pretty tough."
But four months after his return from overseas, May's company, Alternative Designs, is once again a full-time endeavor.
May's tentative success is due, in part, to a buoyant state economy and a community of Kitsap County contractors who wanted to see May get back on his feet. A family at his church even waited eight months to fix a septic system so it could be his first customer when he returned.
81st Brigade Combat Team
Formed in 1968 and includes armored, infantry and cavalry battalions. About 4,500 members — 3,400 from Washington state — with ages ranging into the 50s. Deployed in a massive send-off at the Tacoma Dome in February 2004. Returned this spring. Members served in Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Members killed: Nine: three from Washington, five from California and one from Michigan. Wounded in action: 212. Missions completed: 9,075 combat patrols, 77 combat raids, 197 cordon and searches, 162 combat engagements.
While last year's Iraq deployment of the Washington Army National Guard 81st Brigade Combat Team scrambled the lives of all its citizen soldiers, perhaps no one was more anxious about the long mobilization than the self-employed.
Federal law guarantees workers who leave for Guard duty their same pay and status when they return.
There's no such safety net for people who own their own business.
When he came home, May didn't know if anyone would remember his business. And he was surprised by what he discovered.
"It's humbling to know people will wait for you," he said.
Putting life on hold
A Navy veteran, May joined the Army National Guard in 1986.
After earning an engineering degree from the University of Washington, he started his own business in 1997. He designs roads, sewage systems and storm drains. The business brings in about $50,000 annually.
His wife works for the state Department of Health in its bioterrorism group, so health insurance for May isn't the burden it is for many other small-business owners.
May said he remained in the National Guard because he enjoyed the work and if he stayed in 20 years, he would be eligible for retirement pay, about $1,200 a month.
"Being self-employed, it's all 401(k)s and IRAs and that kind of stuff," he said. "So every little bit helps."
On Oct. 23, 2003, the Army placed May's unit on alert that it would soon be deployed to Iraq.
The 4,500-member 81st includes units from across the state. Its deployment marked the largest mobilization of the state's National Guard troops since World War II.
Before he reported for duty, May left a message on his answering machine, telling callers he would be back in about 18 months.
It was not auspicious timing. May's daughter was heading off for her first year at Pacific Lutheran University, and the family scrambled for scholarships, loans and grants. Still, the Mays dipped into savings.
In Iraq, May was stationed at Camp Victory, on the grounds of Baghdad International Airport. His unit was responsible for perimeter security for the sprawling base.
During active duty, his monthly pay was about $6,000.
When May finally came home March 5, he didn't know how the business climate had changed, or how long it would take him to put his life together again.
Competitors help out
As it turned out, May and the rest of the 81st discovered the state's economy had dramatically improved since they activated.
In October 2003, the unemployment rate stood at 7.3 percent. Last March, when most returned home, it was 5.2 percent.
During the time May spent at Camp Victory, the state added about 98,000 new jobs, according to the state Department of Employment Security.
That was good news for the contracting business. But May also discovered many unforeseen complications to restarting Alternative Designs.
Civil engineers must have liability insurance, which May let lapse when he was gone. The cost was $1,600 annually before he deployed but rose to $2,400 when he got back.
Without an advertising budget, it was up to May personally to let potential customers know he had returned.
"The first order of business was going around, letting people know I was back, shooting out some e-mails, testing the water to see what was going on," May said.
To get the money rolling again, he took a part-time job at the Kitsap County permitting desk. But it wasn't long before his phone started ringing.
Caseco Associates, a commercial excavator that worked with May before he deployed, saved some design work on a potential gravel pit.
"We could have done it while he was gone, but Kim is our local engineer," said Brad Paige, owner of Caseco. "We knew he'd be back. There were a lot of people who were waiting to see him."
MacKenzie, owner of Apex, was one of them.
Also a designer of septic systems, MacKenzie said he and May are occasional competitors, although they mostly collaborate, sharing the work the other can't do.
"I did everything I could to help him to get back on his feet," said MacKenzie, who showed May changes in regulations and passed on job prospects.
MacKenzie said his motivation was equal parts friendship, patriotism and professional courtesy.
"Frankly, I thought it was an obligation to help him out. He's over there fighting for our behalf," MacKenzie said. "There's enough adversity in construction development. People appreciate a break in the adversarial stance."
If federal statistics are any indication, self-employed guardsmen across the state are doing fine.
Since 2001, only five people from Washington have applied for a Small Business Administration program that offers low-interest loans to citizen soldiers or entrepreneurs whose key employees deployed.
Three applications were accepted and about $157,700 loaned.
Back at work
June 2 was May's first day working for his company full time after leaving his county job.
He estimates that it may take a year to get back to where his business was before the mobilization. And that's only if the economy doesn't sputter.
"It will take time to see the full impact of this deployment," May said.
Meanwhile, he contemplates how different his experience coming home from Iraq has been compared to soldiers arriving from some past conflicts.
The country may be divided about the Iraq war, he said, but it is seemingly united in welcoming home the warriors.
"You can't help but think about Vietnam," he said. "Whether you agree with the [Iraq] war or not, it's not [GI] Joe's fault. And I think we've gotten through that."
Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com
A U.S. Army report finds stress is weighing heavily on Iraq War-era troops with 54 percent of soldiers rating their units' morale as low or very low. This is better than the comparable figure in a year-earlier Army survey. Reportedly, most bothersome to the soldiers was the length of their required stay in Iraq, which was at least 1 year.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that the Army's 12-month requirement is linked to reorganization. "I've tried to get the Army to look at the length of tours and I think at some point down the road they will," Rumsfeld said.