This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

MOORE, Okla. – Nearly 500 Oklahoma National Guard members, along with their family and friends, gathered in Moore Wednesday for a farewell ceremony.

The soldiers, from 1st Squadron, 180th Cavalry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, are deploying to Afghanistan where they’ll be providing security and support to train Afghan security forces.

It was a proud, yet emotional day for family members.

And behind the uniforms, these guys are one of us.

“They work at FedEx. They work at the bank. They work all over and just the support that the employers have given us and the love and the support unconditionally that the families have given really allow us to focus on what we’re going to do going forward,” said Michael Urrutia with the Oklahoma National Guard.

The soldiers will be gone for about 9 months and will return next Fall.

The troops, known as “Oklahoma Warriors,” have been training to get ready for this deployment at Camp Gruber near Braggs, Oklahoma.

They will be leaving later this year.