NATCHEZ &045; The exact date troops from the 155th Infantry of the Mississippi Army National Guard will be home is still up in the air, according to a National Guard spokesman.

But members of the unit’s family readiness support group in Natchez &045; an area from which 40-plus members of the 155th hail &045; have gotten word the soldiers could start coming home as early as mid-December.

While nothing’s set in stone until the troops board airplanes heading home, Darryl Grennell, president of the Adams County Board of Supervisors, mentioned in the board’s Monday meeting the need to plan a homecoming for the soldiers.

Glenda Grayson of Fayette, the family readiness group’s leader, said she received an e-mail in late August from her contact with the unit notifying her that troops from the 155th were supposed to begin coming home from Iraq around Dec. 14.

&uot;And according to this, by the end of December our guys should be home,&uot; Grayson said Monday.

Lt. Col. Tim Powell, spokesman for the Mississippi Army National Guard, said he’s seen tentative homecoming dates ranging from early December to early January. And with the advent of e-mail, Powell said, it’s easier than ever for conflicting information from the troops and their supporters to make the rounds, getting hopes up prematurely.

Moreover, Powell said he sometimes doesn’t know a unit’s coming home until its soldiers are on the flight home.

However, he said 155th supporters in Natchez should get at least a couple of days’ notice of the troops’ homecoming, because they would have to spend that long in demobilization activities at Hattiesburg’s Camp Shelby before coming back to the Miss-Lou.

One thing’s for sure: they won’t all come home on the exact same date, but will instead be &uot;cycled in&uot; for several weeks until all are home &045; if for no other reason but the sheer number of troops in the 155th. That unit includes 3,500 soldiers, 3,100 of them from Mississippi, with the rest coming from three other states.

Grayson admitted to being excited at the possibility but acknowledged that with the military, such plans aren’t set in stone until the troops set foot on U.S. soil again.

Still, she said the family readiness group wants to start now to plan what they’ll do for a homecoming &uot;because I don’t want these guys to come home to nothing.&uot;

In fact, the group is inviting anyone who wants to help plans such activities to come to this month’s meeting, set for noon Saturday at the National Guard Armory on Liberty Road. Those who can’t attend can call Grayson at (601) 786-8203 for more information.

Those who want to make donations to the family readiness group’s account to help pay for homecoming events can do so at Britton & Koontz First National Bank.

Other than that, Grayson simply asks the community to keep praying for the troops.

&uot;I just pray (God) continues to watch out for everybody and don’t let anything happen to them,&uot; Grayson said. &uot;Until they come home.&uot;