EASTOVER, S.C. — A group of 50 South Carolina Army National Guard soldiers are deploying for the Sinai Peninsula this week from the McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Eastover.
Tissues and tears were plentiful as family sent them off at a deployment ceremony Wednesday morning, but these relatives and friends are proud of their soldiers.
"We have to make sure that the unit is always trained and prepared for everything and whatever mission sets that we might be conducting while overseas," said Captain Michael Synder, South Carolina National Guard unit commander. "It's bittersweet. Nobody wants to leave their families for so long, but this is what we've been training for."
"I don't know what to say without tearing up," said Michael Painter, father of a deploying soldier.
"I'm happy for him," said Angela Zachery, mother of a deploying soldier. "I'm proud of him, too."
"I had to pray to God to help me accept this," said Christina Washington, grandmother of a deploying soldier.
The group will be gone for about a year in Egypt.
This act of service is a tradition for many troops, passed through generations.
"I did not try to recruit my daughters to going into the military, but we've got a tradition in our family of it," said Thomas Sage, father of a deploying soldier.
"His grandfather was here for 30 odd years. I was here for six years, and he's been here about 12, so a family affair that we're used to," Painter said.
These troops are serving the community and serving the country.
They don't officially leave the state until Friday, when they travel to Fort Hood for mobilization training for 30-40 days. After that, they are off to Egypt.