BY DARRELL HALEN

Four years ago, Jered Maguire – then 17 and in high school – joined several students and parents in a demonstration along Route 38 in Pelham in support of U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.

Soon he, too, will be serving in Iraq.

Maguire, 21, is a sergeant with the New Hampshire Army National Guard’s 237th military police company, which is expected to spend nine or 10 months in Iraq.

As a member of a police transition team, Maguire will train Iraqi police officers, teaching them about crime scene investigations, patrol procedures, conducting searches, report writing, handcuffing and more.

“Pretty much everything we do in law enforcement, we will be teaching them to do,” said Maguire, who will go to the Middle East with about 41 unit members.

Maguire recently returned to Pelham after spending a little more than two months at Camp Shelby, Miss. There, he got acclimated to the heat, requalified on weapons, took classes in cultural awareness and rules of engagement, and learned a few words in Arabic.

“Obviously I’m nervous because it’s a war zone,” he said. “So, no matter how you look at it, you’re nervous. But, especially after going through the training in Mississippi, I’m confident in all the guys I’m going with.”

Maguire spent the first three years of high school at Fellowship Christian Academy in Methuen, Mass., and was home-schooled during his senior year. He played sports at Pelham High School.

Maguire was hired as a police officer in Chester in May, just one month before his unit was called up. He expects to arrive in Iraq in the third or fourth week of September after spending two weeks in Kuwait.

“I talked to a lot of guys who’ve gone out there, and there is a lot of good going on,” Maguire said.

“Unfortunately, with the media, you get a different type of spin, you see all the bad stuff there. There’s a lot of good going on, and I want to be part of it.”

Maguire enlisted in February 2005. He wanted to serve his country, and knowing he wanted a career in law enforcement, he believed he would benefit from his experience with the unit.

When Maguire returns from Iraq, he will return to police work in Chester and will continue his military service. He also plans to continue his education.

“We’re proud of him,” said Maguire’s mother, Amy. “He’s a soldier boy. It’s in him to do it. It’s best that a young man does what he knows he should do and is good at. I’m OK with that. I’m his mother and I’m not thrilled that he’s going to see battle. That’s part of it, and I’m going to be praying for him every day.”

There is a history of military service in Maguire’s family. His father, Mike, served in the Air Force. Mike’s father fought in World War II and his grandfather served in World War I.

“If it wasn’t for the solider, we would never have the freedoms we have,” Mike said.

While sitting in his parents’ home and looking over a newspaper clipping of the demonstration he organized four years ago, Maguire said,  “It’s always been big in our family to back the troops. No matter how you look at it, whether you agree with certain people’s policies or not, the troops have a job to do.”

When he arrived at Logan Airport in Boston from Mississippi, dressed in fatigues and sporting a military haircut, strangers shook Maguire’s hand and thanked him for his service.

Maguire believes the work is embarking on is important.

“I think the best thing is stability for their country,” he said. “If we don’t help out, nobody else is going to do it.”