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When National Guard Sgt. Rob Indri soon deploys to Iraq, he can leave knowing his family will not have to struggle as much financially during his absence. His co-workers and friends at Schnabel Engineering, where he works as a civil engineer, have donated 734 hours - 41/2 months - of their vacation time to help Indri and his family.

Indri, who serves with the 30th Brigade in Bravo Company, heard the news at his going away party a few weeks ago.

"Previous to this, I felt no one understood the significance of this to my wife and family," Indri said. He and his wife, Jody, have two sons, Hunter, 4, and Giovanni, 2. "This made me realize they understand the sacrifice and care about me."

About 36 employees from the company's offices in Greensboro, Alpharetta, Ga., and West Chester, Pa., donated vacation time.

"We hope this gives him the peace of mind that his family is taken care of," said Robert Cannon, branch leader for the Greensboro office.

Friend and co-worker Andrew Austin initiated the idea of donating vacation time to Indri.

"He's been my mentor since arriving in Greensboro in September 2007, and I'm proud to say he is a friend as well," Austin said.

Austin, Cannon and Indri said their office is a close-knit group. Indri and some co-workers recently took a camping and fishing trip in the Great Smoky Mountains.

"We've become an extended family," Indri said.

Indri will receive the pay that each person who donated would normally receive, which means he gets more money from those who make more than he does. Indri receives a salary from the National Guard, but it's less than what he makes as an engineer.

Austin said he believes the donated vacation time will be a tremendous help.

"It won't make the transition any easier for them, and it won't make the time without their father any less painful, but it will provide a cushion for any financial hardships that occur between now and the time that Rob returns," Austin said.

Indri begins training for his deployment in December. A member of the National Guard for six years, this is his second deployment. The first was to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2004. He will be gone at least a year and plans to return to his job at Schnabel. His wife and children are moving in with Jody's parents in Iowa while he's gone, and a co-worker is renting his house here. The wives of several of Indri's co-workers have been helping them pack.

"My wife was really impressed," Indri said. "She said she'd never seen that level of compassion other than from church." The couple attends Westover Church.

Indri plans to keep in touch with his co-workers through e-mail, and his friend and co-worker Jackson Redmond bought him a Web cam.

"I'm just so very grateful," Indri said. "Vacation time is hard to give up."

For administrative assistant Jacque Howell, who has worked for Schnabel 11/2 years, giving up some vacation time was easy.

"I wanted to show my appreciation of all the servicemen and wanted to contribute what I could to assist him and his family," she said.

The overwhelming response from co-workers is "a testament to the type of person that Rob is and a recognition of his service and sacrifice for our country," Austin said. "His leadership and positive attitude will be missed during his deployment, and we will all pray for his safe return."

Contact Jennifer Atkins Brown at 574-5582 or jennifer.brown@news-record.com