Friday morning community members, family and friends poured into the Babe Harder Gym at Marshalltown Community College. The sounds of bagpipes greeted them at the entrance as young children ran about, wearing red, white and blue and tightly holding teddy bears. Families comforted each other with hugs, tissues and prayers. The send-off ceremony was one of many being held across the state this week for an historic event — the largest deployment of the Iowa National Guard since World War II. With 50 soldiers from the local Detachment 1 Brigade Special Troops Battalion leaving for additional training, and ultimately a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, Marshalltown stood proudly by its side. As these soldiers depart we would like to remind them of the gratitude we have for each of them. We will forever be grateful for their service. Moreover, we remember the families and friends who are saying goodbye.