JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A group of about 60 Mississippi Army National Guard soldiers are leaving Jackson to deploy to Afghanistan.

A send-off ceremony was held Thursday in Madison for members of Company G of the 1st Battalion of the 168th Aviation Regiment.

The company flies medical evacuation missions using UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters.

The soldiers first are going to Fort Bliss, Texas, for more training, before heading to Afghanistan for about 10 months. They'll be part of Operation Freedom's Sentinel, what the United States now calls its military mission in the southwest Asian country.

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