Lawmaker-Marine faces extra challenges as he heads to Iraq

JACKSONVILLE (AP) - Jim Watson is going to war, and that means taking care of details familiar to any Marine: updating his will, packing his duffel bags, saying goodbye. Then there are a few unusual chores, like figuring out how to raise campaign money while in Iraq and arranging for other lawmakers to watch over his legislative district while he's away. Watson is a staff sergeant in the Marine Reserves, but he's also a Republican member of the state House, representing a swath of farmland and small towns in central Illinois. He leaves Sunday to train in Camp Pendleton, Calif. When he arrives in Iraq a few weeks later, Watson will become one of just 23 state legislators deployed overseas by the military over the past four years, according t