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WASHINGTON — Nearly a decade ago, former Congressman Charles Djou signed up for military service in the surreal aftermath of 9/11. He was a Hawaii state representative at the time, and had just turned 31.

“I opted to join after Sept. 11 because I believed at the time I was still young enough and able-bodied enough to do my part,” Djou told Civil Beat. “I don’t regret the decision.”

Since Djou enlisted, a lot has happened. He and his wife welcomed two daughters. He served on the Honolulu City Council, then completed a brief stint as a congressman. Last year, he turned 40.

After a decade as an Army reservist, Djou now faces his first deployment. His tour of duty in Afghanistan begins this month, and it coincides with another run for U.S. Congress.

Djou will serve as a rule of law military adviser to help the Afghan National Police and the Afghan judiciary comply with laws.

“The laws of Afghanistan are often at odds with ancient, and often unwritten, ‘customary law,'” Djou said. “The U.S. is seeking to get the police and judiciary to understand and obey the national government in Kabul instead of pledging loyalty to local warlords/drug kingpins and I am part of that mission.”

Republican Djou held Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District seat for just over seven months last year. He won a May 2010 special election when Democratic candidates split the vote, then lost the seat to Democratic Rep. Colleen Hanabusa that November. She’s running for re-election in 2012, and he is again challenging her.

Deployment may be a political hiccup, but it is not a deterrent for Djou.

“It is obviously inconvenient, and it is disruptive to my campaign, to my family and to my personal life,” Djou said. “But I really want to emphasize that as disruptive as it is to me, it is no more disruptive than what more than 100,000 American families are going through right now.”

Despite the long lag between the time he enlisted and his first deployment, Djou said he wasn’t surprised to be called to action. After all, last summer he a $37 billion to continue the war in Afghanistan.

“I stand by that vote,” Djou said.

Djou is known for being candid and even blunt about his political beliefs, but he’s now restrained about what he’ll say with regard to foreign policy.

“I think we want a foreign policy and a national security policy that keeps America and Americans safe and furthers the causes of freedom and liberty,” Djou said.

Asked about the Patriot Act — an issue on which Hawaii’s U.S. senators voted differently this year — Djou wouldn’t explain his position except to say that he has a “very strong opinion.”

“I hesitate to say anything, and I think the proper response is ‘no comment,'” Djou said. “Once you’re active duty, you have a responsibility to carry out the policies of the commander in chief to the best of your abilities, with your life if necessary.”

Djou said that while he’s still technically a private citizen, he’s in the “gray area” of imminent deployment. Asked how voters can decide whether to elect a person who won’t talk about his foreign policy positions, he said he’ll be straight-forward about his beliefs from the moment he returns to Hawaii next spring.

Though he’ll be gone from the campaign trail for six months, Djou said he believes his service will ultimately help him better serve Hawaii.

“I don’t think military service is necessarily a prerequisite but I think it’s essential and important,” Djou said. “If you don’t have a direct, personal understanding of military and defense, and you’re trying to represent Hawaii, you’re incomplete.”

Hawaii has a history of electing service members. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka both served in World War II. But Inouye and Akaka are loyal Democrats in a state where most voters are Democrats, too. Republican Djou said neither senator has been in touch with him since the news of his deployment.

For security reasons, Djou said he’s not permitted to give the exact date of his September deployment. He leaves for Afghanistan “very soon,” he said. First he’ll spend some time at Fort Benning, in Georgia, where he’ll be issued a weapon and body armor.

The prospect of heading to Afghanistan isn’t scary to Djou — he chuckles at the notion — but he says preparing his family for his absence is “difficult.” He said he worries about the “enormous burden” that his departure will place on his wife. Djou’s son is 18. His daughters are 8 and 4.

“It’s difficult to explain war to a preschooler,” Djou said. “It’s difficult to explain how their dad is going to war to a preschooler… I am worried for my family. In the military, when you put on the uniform, you understand that you’re not putting on a clown suit. I signed up for the military knowing that this is something that could happen to me, getting deployed into a combat theater. This is something that I understood but it is not necessarily something that my family has always understood.”

Djou said he is gaining a “deeper and richer” understanding of what military families go through during wartime, and that he hopes his high-profile deployment will signal civilians in Hawaii to consider the sacrifices that service members make on their behalves.

“The military is important and integral part of life in Hawaii,” Djou said. “While I think a lot of people see what service members go through, I think people sometimes take it for granted. Ultimately, individuals have to serve. It’s individuals who have to answer the call to duty, and it’s families who bear this burden. I’m happy to do my small share.”