Oregon Public Broadcasting

About 2700 soldiers from Idaho, Oregon and Montana have started a year-long deployment that will eventually take them to Iraq.

The Guard held informal send-off ceremonies in several cities across the Northwest Tuesday. They head first to Camp Shelby in Mississippi for specialized training.

In Lewiston, Idaho, Specialist Joel Eggart says he's excited to start his new mission in Iraq.

Joel Eggart: "I definitely am looking forward to the experience. You know, we've trained for the last year, year-and-a-half to do this and itís exciting to finally get to put that training into what we do over there."

What they'll do, says a National Guard spokesman, is to support transportation convoys and provide security on military bases.

The soldiers from Idaho, Oregon and Montana will head to the Middle East in November. They're scheduled to serve 10 months overseas.