CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind. — More than 600 Indiana National Guard soldiers are set to head to the Middle East as part of Operation Spartan Shield.
Hundreds of their loved ones and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb gathered at Camp Atterbury for their departure ceremony.
The soldiers will spend the next month in Texas before heading to Kuwait, where they'll be headquartered.
Wednesday, Sept. 25 was a chance for the families and their state to say thank you as the soldiers get ready to leave.
"You are the best among us," Holcomb told the soldiers as they head off to a part of the world that will include an area designated a combat zone.
"The state of Indiana, your friends and family back home, we have your back knowing that you have ours every second of the day," Holcomb said.
The danger these soldiers could face was not lost on the governor as he stood before the men and women deploying, their families sitting in the audience.
"To protect and defend our way of life, this is something very few do. Many, in fact, would be scared to go when they learn the orders you're in receipt of. They're happy it's you, not them," Holcomb told the soldiers.
"I'm confident we're trained proficiently, and we're ready to take on whatever mission is thrown at us," said Capt. Theodore Jackson, who's leaving behind his wife and three children, the youngest being 7 years old.
"I tell them to go day by day, just go to school, do your homework and listen to your mom and, over time, the days will pass," Jackson said about how he's been preparing his family for the upcoming year without him.
The soldiers will work with NATO and non-NATO countries from several locations in the Middle East to provide safety and security in the region.
The mission comes at a time that tensions throughout the region are on the rise, with Israel's war against Hamas continuing, along with their recent bombings in Lebanon.
"On a calendar, I actually wrote, 'Thomas is leaving to save the world.' And that's how I see it," said Stacey Allman, who's son is one of the soldiers going on the mission.
It's not easy for Allman to know he's headed to a dangerous part of the world, but she supports the job she said he's wanted to do since he was a kid.
"That's the most important part, supporting him. That's all you can do, and I know he knows that," Allman said.
While Wednesday's ceremony was the public goodbye, the private ones will come on Sunday.
"I don't want her to go, but I'm proud of her," said Becky Hulse, who, along with her husband, Andy, has been here before. They had two sons serve in Afghanistan. Now it's their daughter, Staff Sgt. Shelby Hulse, saying goodbye.
"She's our third one to get deployed, and somehow, it's a little more nerve-wracking," Andy said.
"It is. It is. Probably because she's my baby, but she's good at what she does," Becky said.
Their daughter said she's ready to do the job.
"I'm excited to get the ball rolling, get there, do our mission and get back," Sgt. Hulse said.
That moment is still a long way off, but it's one these families are already dreaming about.
"I'm going to pray a lot," Becky said.