LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 150 Kentucky soldiers said goodbye to family and friends Thursday afternoon before departing for the Middle East.
A deployment ceremony for the 206th Engineer Battalion of the Kentucky National Guard was held at the Owensboro Convention Center in Owensboro.Â
The soldiers will be on construction missions in areas of Iraq and Syria in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the United State's mission to defeat the Islamic State group.
"You will be filled with an absolute pride in yourself and your deployed loved one," a speaker said during the ceremony. "It will be the kind of pride that may bring a tear to your eye when you hear the national anthem. And you will not care that people can see you cry. In fact, you may be filled with pity for those that don't cry, because you'll wonder if they've ever been blessed enough to appreciate the experiences like the one you've had."
The 206th Battalion was last deployed in 2006 to Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Kentucky National Guard has mobilized more than 18,000 soldiers and airmen in support of the global war on terror.
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