In an hour, Hyattsville resident Aparicio would be on a bus to Fort Dix, N.J., for training. In 60 days, he’s scheduled to be in Iraq for 10 months.

But for the dozens of Prince George’s County residents who serve in the Maryland National Guard, it was the last chance, for now, to put family first.

Eighteen Prince George’s residents left with Company B out of White Oak at the start of Memorial Day weekend Friday, as part of what military officials say is the largest deployment of Maryland National Guard since World War II. They don’t expect to see their spouses, children or parents for 12 months.

So before leaving, they were insistent about making sure their families felt comforted.

Greenbelt resident and Pfc. Michael Inzeo, 21, said he made a videotape of himself for his son and daughter, each 2-years-old. He’s only able to explain where he’s going in the simplest of terms — ‘‘gotta go fight the bad guys” – but has assured them he’ll be back soon.

‘‘I just told ‘em, ‘Bye,’ and sooner or later I’m gonna say ‘Hi’ ... and they’ll say, ‘I know you,’” Inzeo said.

He said he even lightly sprayed his deodorant on their beds, so each one has something sensory to remember him by.

The deployment last week of the 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment included about 640 soldiers from across Maryland. Many of them, including Inzeo, had already been to Iraq.

Aparicio has also been through this routine before. He returned from his first mission to Iraq in 2006.

‘‘I know what to expect now, this time, but it’s still pretty bad,” his wife Faria said. ‘‘I’ll have to get used to doing things myself again.”

Faria is a family studies major at the University of Maryland in College Park, and works at the Infiniti dealership in Bethesda. Aparicio works in the paint shop at the Toyota dealership across the street from the armory.

‘‘Leaving them behind is frustrating,” Aparicio said of his family.

The mood at White Oak was proud and resigned. The Guard members had not been told where in Iraq they were going, but four years into an unpopular war, those leaving for the Middle East voiced few complaints.

‘‘I am extremely proud of these men and women who represent the best of Maryland,” Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, a Prince George’s resident, said in a statement delivered to part of the battalion in Dundalk Friday. Companies of the battalion also deployed out of Frederick, Towson and Elkton, but Prince George’s residents are mostly stationed at White Oak.

‘‘Their service and sacrifice to our state and our country is an example to all of our citizens and worthy of emulation,” Brown said.

But even as the National Guardsmen and women heard words of encouragement, their outlook was tempered by concern for their families.

Bladensburg resident Spc. Andre Hendricks, 27, who returned from Iraq in May 2006, said his second deployment will be tough on his wife, whom he married last month.

‘‘We used to e-mail each other back and forth [during the last deployment],” he said. ‘‘She’s upset about the second one, but she says everything will be alright.”

Hendricks hopes that when he gets back, he’ll have a job waiting for him at the Montgomery County Fire Department.

There are 540 members of the Maryland National Guard deployed mostly to Iraq and Afghanistan. The 640 troops deployed Friday are about half of the 1,300 called up for deployment from the Maryland National Guard.

Maryland Military Department spokesman Quentin Banks Jr. said the recent deployment was not part of the president’s controversial troop surge, designed to send thousands of extra military personnel into Baghdad to stabilize. This deployment was already scheduled, Banks said.

‘‘I just pray for him,” Morogiana Massaquoi said of her son, Lanham resident Charles Reffell, 24, who is heading to Iraq for the first time. His girlfriend Mariam Lansana stood silently near him Friday.

Minutes before the Guard made the call to start boarding the buses for New Jersey, Laurel resident Sgt. William Gilbert, 25, huddled inside with his family, who drove in from the Eastern Shore in Delaware. They joked that they’d come visit, but their concern was written on their faces.

‘‘We’ll just be praying for him every day,” his mother Theresa Zerphey said.

E-mail Judson Berger at jberger@gazette.net.