It was a bitter-sweet moment for family members and soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, 11th Brigade and the 877th Quartermaster Company, out of Albuquerque, N.M., as close to 100 soldiers were deployed to Southwest Asia Jan. 16 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"We're ready, we were anticipating this, most of us are excited," said Chief Warrant Officer Reid Evans, 3-43 ADA. "We are ready to rock and roll."

This is the second deployment of troops since Thanksgiving. "Thank God we were here for the holidays, I got to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and my daughter's birthday which is New Year's Day," said Evans.

Although the soldiers had been alerted to the deployment around the holidays, they did not receive movement orders until last week. Earlier this month equipment, including the PAC-3 system, was deployed to an undisclosed overseas location to await the soldiers' arrival.

On this their last day in the states for awhile, family members were able to spend part of the early morning with the deploying soldiers. Once their military spouses leave, however, the families will look to others for support.

Anthony Farrell said he felt scared and worried about his wife, Pfc. Lennon Farrell's deployment. He will be taking care of their six-year-old daughter, Ashlyn, while his wife is away. He will not be alone, though. Already he said help has been offered through the unit's Family Resource Group.

"The FRG has been really helpful, if there's anything we need we can call someone and they'll help us out," he said.

Pfc. Farrell said she felt confident leaving her husband and daughter behind. "He has a complete packet (issued by the FRG) including phone numbers to contact anybody he needs. He's got it all," she said. In reference to her daughter, who is a student at Bliss Elementary School, Farrell said the school has group, classroom, and/or individual therapy that are available to her daughter if she needs it.