Devan LaCroix works two jobs, but it isn’t about making ends meet.

He does it with a sense of duty.

The 31-year-old Mill Creek resident works full time as maintenance director for the Aegis of Bothell retirement community.

He’s also a sergeant in the Army National Guard.

One job takes place in a compassionate environment. The other puts him in the line of fire.

“I just look at it as another job,” LaCroix said. “It’s just a little different — more dangerous.”

LaCroix heads to training this week for his second tour of duty in Iraq. His first deployment came in 2004, during some of the darkest hours to date for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Things will be different this time around, on several accounts.

For one thing, LaCroix is a family man these days. He got married March 15, and had his first child, Haiden, a month later.

“He’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” LaCroix said. “I’m sad that I’ll miss a lot of stuff. He’s a newborn, and I’m leaving for a year.”

The war has also quieted since the U.S. implemented a troop surge in 2007. Insurgent activities are down, and the Iraqis are taking over day-to-day combat operations more than ever.

“Slowly but surely, things are getting better,” LaCroix said. “A lot of us who were there for the early phases are curious about how the country is now and how the people are going to treat us.”

His first reception wasn’t exactly warm.

The troop-transport plane LaCroix arrived on had to take evasive measures to avoid a rocket-propelled grenade, and insurgents were shelling the airport when he landed.

“Right from the get-go, you know you’re in a war zone,” he said.

LaCroix’s company operated from one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces in Baghdad, doing routine patrols through some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in search of insurgents and their weapons caches.

“Right off the bat, our first week there, we saw some contact,” LaCroix said. “It was an eye-opener.”

Some of the fiercest fighting took place in March 2004, when LaCroix’s unit was ambushed during a patrol.

Insurgents were attacking from hidden positions throughout the city, with a mosque serving as their headquarters.

“It was a long, tedious firefight, and they were well-embedded,” LaCroix said. “Every time we tried to get inside the mosque, our guys were shot at.”

It took almost 15 hours to overcome the insurgents.

LaCroix recalls his team giving aid to wounded enemy combatants.

“We tried to help out any way we can,” he said. “Even if they’re insurgents, it’s still human life.”

LaCroix’s mission in Iraq didn’t always involve combat.

Sometimes his job was to deliver seed to farmers or school supplies to children.

His unit also built makeshift medical centers where medics would volunteer to assist with care.

One assignment had LaCroix guarding a remote weapons facility where Hussein had stored chemicals and enriched uranium, known as yellow cake.

“I don’t know why they didn’t publicize that more,” LaCroix said. “We didn’t find weapons of mass destruction, but we found all the ingredients.”

LaCroix’s first tour didn’t cost him life or limb, but it did have an emotional impact.

Some of the Iraqi translators he knew were assassinated because of their involvement with coalition forces, and an American medic from a sister company died when an improvised explosive device struck his Humvee.

The medic had helped LaCroix when his throat was swelling for unknown reasons. He solved the problem with medicine and prevented LaCroix from having to undergo emergency surgery in Germany.

“I’ll never forget his face and what he did for me,” he said. “I’m forever grateful for that.”

The effects of combat duty lingered when LaCroix returned home. He had grown suspicious of everyday people from having spent a year watching Iraqi civilians with mistrust. Every loud noise would startle him.

“It takes awhile to readjust,” he said. “Over there, you’re always on the move and looking over your shoulder.”

Even driving was different.

LaCroix was accustomed to maneuvering Army Huvees any way necessary to remain safe. Now he had to obey traffic laws.

Still, the side effects of war never showed up at work in the civilian world.

“He has a calm demeanor,” said Aegis of Bothell Executive Director Karl Miller. “He’s always happy and relates to the residents well.”

Some of those residents are veterans themselves. LaCroix said he likes to swap stories and bring them military MREs (meals ready to eat) to sample.

“They tell me the food’s gotten a lot better since their days in the service,” he said.

LaCroix’s second tour in Iraq will be focused around convoy security, as the Iraqis have continued taking over patrols and combat operations.

His days of busting through doors to confront insurgents are likely over, but he still faces the threat of ambush.

“I’m anxious to see how it’s really going to be,” he said.

LaCroix plans to remain in the military until reaching the 20-year mark for retirement. He enlisted in the Army in 1996 and served on active duty until 2000, when he joined the National Guard.

“I joined the military because I wanted to venture out and travel,” he said. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of that, and I’m still doing it. I love the Army. I love my job.”

It’s just a little different — more dangerous.