In the twilight of Larry Nowlin's long career as an educator, the Arkansas superintendent should be thinking about building up his retirement. But his second job--as a command sergeant major with the Arkansas National Guard--has eaten up some of his nest egg and several of the last seven years, something over which the 57-year-old Nowlin has no control. Since 1999, his National Guard unit has been called up three times for service in the Middle East. Each time he left, Nowlin's short-term replacement was an experienced principal in the district, but Nowlin tried to give assistance from afar. During his first deployment, he even completed Riverside's budgeting process from Kuwait and submitted the budget to the district's bookkeeper by fax. As Nowlin struggles to balance his civilian and military careers, he has a lot of company in the school leadership ranks across the country. When Reservists and Guard are mobilized, their employers are required to grant them leaves of absence, guaranteeing they have jobs when they return. But unlike most jobs in civilian life, the demands of the superintendency are such that there never really is a down time. Filling in for an absent superintendent requires extensive knowledge of budgets and teacher contracts and curricular issues that relatively few possess.