PHOENIX (CBS5) -
The Arizona National Guard is conducting a sendoff ceremony Wednesday for the 258th Engineer Company who are heading to Afghanistan.
The ceremony is being held at the 52nd Street Armory on the Drill Floor at 1135 N. 52nd St. in Phoenix at 10 a.m.
The 160 soldiers will first head to Fort Bliss, Texas, for a month of training and then deploy to Afghanistan where their mission will be to support engineer operations in the country, Army officials said.
The operations will include construction of roads and helicopter pads, construction and de-construction of forward operating bases and combat operation post, building tank ditches, and supporting other construction operations, officials said.
More than 250 Arizona Army and Air National Guard members are still on active federal duty in Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and within the continental U.S., according to Army officials.
More than 9,300 members of the Arizona Army and Air National Guard have been called to federal active service since Sept. 11, 2001.
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