Four years ago as a student at Helena High School, Jake Leaf took flak for the way he dressed.

Now, Leaf is taking flak of a different sort, poised with the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade in Northern Iraq. He's toting a squad automatic weapon as a member of an infantry unit, doing what his country has asked him to do.

On Wednesday, paratroopers with the 173rd Airborne jumped into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq and seized an airfield. It's unknown if Leaf was among them. His father, Bob, hasn't heard from his son in nearly a week.

"The last time I talked to him he had a real professional outlook on this," Bob said. "This is what he signed up to do."

Jake joined the Army in the summer of 2001 shortly after graduating high school. He wanted to join the airborne most of his life. The reasons why may be simple.

Bob served in the 101st Airborne during the Cold War while a close family friend served in the 82nd Airborne. Jake's high school buddy Dan Krogh joined the Army's 1st Infantry Division.

For Bob, expressing concerns for his son's safety isn't easy. As a former soldier himself, he understands the rigors of the job and knows his son is in good hands. Still, it doesn't ease this father's angst.

"I'm proud that he's over there," Bob said. "I just wish he had more people with them. I wish we had more troops in this country."

Bob spends much of his time watching 24-hour media coverage of the war and surfing the Internet for the latest news. He's built an e-mail group among those concerned with Jake's safety and the progress of the war.

Chances are, Bob knows, his son is undergoing some changes.

"I would call him a romantic and an adventurer," Bob said. "When he enlisted, he surprised so many people that didn't know him too well. He had long hair. He was one of the Goths."

It was his style as a so-called Goth, along with his buddy Dan that prompted a local newspaper article in 1999.

"The two boys claim they are being unfairly targeted because they are different, dismissed by their peers as odd because they relish a culture called Goth," the story read.

Now, those two boys, Jake and Dan, are fighting in Iraq, making the flak over their style of dress in high school seem petty at best.

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or mkidston@helenair.com.