St. Cloud Hosts Ceremony for Soldiers Headed to Afghanistan [VIDEO, AUDIO]
July 20, 2012 1:21 PM 
ST. CLOUD – Around 50 National Guard Soldiers, joined by family, friends and officials, were given well-wishes in a deployment ceremony in St. Cloud on Friday morning.
Company C, 2-211 General Support Aviation Battalion will be responsible for medical evacuation support in Afghanistan as part of Operation: Enduring Freedom.
The deployment is expected to last about one year, and for most of the soldiers, this is not a first mission. Anthony Mastro of Zimmerman says this is his second deployment – but first to Afghanistan.
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Mastro says a typical day for the company will involve waiting for calls to perform helicopter rescue missions, and making sure equipment is in good working order.
The battalion will complete a few months of training in Fort Hood, Texas before deploying to Afghanistan.
Check out our video of highlights from the emotional event.
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