St. Cloud Hosts Ceremony for Soldiers Headed to Afghanistan [VIDEO, AUDIO]

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.

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.