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Ashley Hayes ReportingA big send-off this morning for Army Reserve soldiers leaving Fort Douglas. Eventually they're headed for the Middle East.
They will be joining the rest of the Delta Detachment of the 395th Finance battalion that left last week.
There were a lot of difficult goodbyes this morning.
The soldiers are heading to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin for four months of training. Then they will end up in Kuwait where they will split up again and some soldiers will go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or Qatar.
Families started arriving early to say their goodbyes. It will likely be a year and a half before these soldiers see their families again.
For the majority of the soldiers-- 90 percent of them-- this is their first deployment, and for the families it's the first time their loves ones will be gone for so long.
After training, the soldiers will work in finance centers scattered throughout various installations. They won't be directly in the line of fire, but will still be within combat zones.
Their jobs will be to help other soldiers handle financial and payroll problems, cash checks, and negotiate contract deals with local vendors.
