Afghanistan Bound

By Associated Press

Stillwater, OK – Soldiers, family gather for deployment ceremony

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) About 60 Oklahoma Army National Guard soldiers and their families gathered in Stillwater for a deployment ceremony.

The soldiers with the 1-45th Agribusiness Development Team will spend about a year in Afghanistan helping the natives learn to better manage their crops and farm.

The soldiers have been in training at Oklahoma State University and other institutions in soil sampling, beekeeping and veterinary medicine. They'll be helping educate Afghanis in animal husbandry, agronomy, pest management, finance and forestry.

The troops will go through pre-mobilization training in Indiana before leaving for Afghanistan near the end of the year.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.