AUGUSTA – Families and friends said goodbye on Wednesday morning to 18 Maine Army National Guard soldiers before the group departed for Afghanistan.

About 250 people arrived at 9 a.m. at the Augusta Armory to bid farewell to members of the Embedded Training Team, who will advise and train Afghan National Security Forces. The 18 soldiers are a hand-selected group of both traditional and full-time guardsmen who have artillery and infantry experience, Guard officials said. All of the soldiers have volunteered for the mission.

“These are very educated, very well-trained and very professional members of the Maine Army National Guard,” said Capt. Shanon Cotta, public affairs officer for the Maine Guard. “Well over 70 percent of the soldiers are combat veterans from either Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom or the Persian Gulf War.”

The group will receive additional training in Kansas before deploying to Afghanistan, where two-person teams will be responsible for about 100 Afghan soldiers or police. In addition to training the Afghan troops in the field, Maine’s soldiers will teach higher-ranking Afghan officials how to pay, conduct promotions and perform administrative tasks, Cotta said. Before deploying, the group trained using Russian-made AK-47s and other weapons used by Afghan fighters.

Eight of the 18 soldiers deploying with the unit hail from Aroostook, Knox, Penobscot, Somerset and Waldo counties – including the towns of Houlton, Hampden, Levant, Northport, Union and Pittsfield. Most of the deploying soldiers are either officers or high-ranking noncommissioned officers, Cotta said.

Cotta said he has attended many departure ceremonies with the Guard, but noted Wednesday’s ceremony was more upbeat.

“There was a noticeable difference,” Cotta said. “When you deal with larger units, you’re dealing with a lot more junior enlisted soldiers, and it’s a much more emotional event when you see the look on mothers’ and girlfriends’ faces. These soldiers are highly experienced and most have previously deployed.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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