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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - About 200 National Guardsmen began training here this weekend to help protect the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

The soldiers, members of the Fayetteville-based 252nd Combined Arms Battalion, will work along the border from Saturday until Aug. 5 as part of yearly training that had been planned for Fort Bragg.

In May, President Bush requested that up to 6,000 National Guard troops be sent to the southern border.

The National Guard battalion had been scheduled to send the troops to New Mexico, but those plans were changed to Arizona because officials decided they had enough resources in New Mexico.

Staff Sgt. David Spaulding doesn't mind pulling a two-week stint patrolling the border between Mexico and Arizona. Compared to a Middle East war, Spaulding said other missions seem easy.

"This is more peace-oriented than Iraq was," said Spaulding, of Whiteville.

The two-week assignment won't be without risks, though. The hot desert has poisonous snakes and armed guardsmen might encounter drug dealers, said Maj. Mike Bruschi, executive officer for the 252nd Combined Arms Battalion.

"If there is interaction, our soldiers have the right to defend themselves if something should happen," he said.

On Saturday, members of the Guard filled out paperwork and conducted drills. They got medical checks, reviewed their wills with a lawyer and practiced firing M-16 rifles.

Michael Lopez, a 19-year-old Guard specialist from Fayetteville, was asked at a processing table where his remains should be sent.

Lopez was silent.

"My remains?" he asked.

"Your body," the other soldier replied.