They serve on the front lines and they go willingly to fight for this country. They are the Kentucky National Guard. Sunday afternoon family, friends and community members gathered at Rowan County Senior High School to say goodbye to the 301st Chemical Company Task Force Dragon Warrior troops.

The Warren Cooper gymnasium was packed with family members, friends and well-wishers to say farewells during a mobilization ceremony.

Ssg. David Crawford of Clay City is a squad leader for the Kentucky National Guard who is being deployed to Iraq. This deployment will be his third.

“I was deployed in Bosnia, Iraq and now this,” Crawford said.

Leaving is always emotional for him and his family.

“It gets hard for me to leave,” Crawford said. “I have three kids.”

Crawford said he was in Bosnia for about nine months and was in Iraq for 11months and 14 days. Although his wife and children are used to him leaving, it doesn’t dispel the disappointment his family members feel when it is time for him to go.

His family members described how they felt as they said goodbye at the ceremony.

“I’m not happy about this,” said son Taylor Crawford.

“I don’t want him to go,” said daughter Megan.

Crawford’s wife Tanya said she didn’t feel much different about this deployment than she has during her husband’s previous deployments.

“It’s all the same,” Mrs. Crawford said. “It’s not that I am afraid so much because I have confidence in my husband.”

Her confidence also relies upon God for her husband’s protection.

“I pray a lot,” she said. “God is in control. He knows what he is doing. He is a good soldier.”

Spc. Tina Dunn is a medic for the guard. This is her first deployment.

“I am nervous,” Dunn said. “I’m impressed with this unit. Everyone here is qualified in his or her jobs. We have really good captains, sergeants and soldiers who will do what they are trained to do.”

Although it is a first deployment for some, she said she thought everyone would experience some hint of anxiety prior to leaving for Iraq.

“I think everyone is going to be nervous,” Dunn said. “The hard part is leaving your family.”

She said the unit had some really good training.

“I have a lot of confidence in those soldiers that I am working with,” Dunn said. “They know what they are doing.”

1st Sgt. James Coyne explained the types of training the unit received.

“The unit completed 32 army warrior tasks and numerous other tasks,” Coyne said. “They will go through training in more collective tasks at Camp Shelby in Mississippi.”

Cmdr. Travis Huber described how he felt about this deployment.

“I just left my family in Maysville,” Huber said. “I am thinking about all that I am going to miss while I am gone. I have a daughter who is eight and a daughter who is a senior in high school.”

Even though he is sad about leaving his family and missing out on important events in their lives, Huber said he is glad to be a part of this mission.

“I’m proud to be with these guys,” Huber said. “I’m excited about this mission. We will have good experience interacting with Iraqi people and soldiers. We will walk away with memories that will last a lifetime.”

Local government officials attended the ceremony and extended their wishes to the soldiers and their families. The recurring theme in each speech was endless support for the families that the soldiers are leaving behind. Officials reminded the families that whenever a situation arises that they need help to always call on them for support. Officials present at the event were Mayor David Perkins, state Representative Rocky Adkins and state Representative John Will Stacy.

Huber said the unit will be gone until next May.

According to a press release, the Kentucky National Guard hosted departure ceremonies for the 299th Chemical Company and the 301st Chemical Company to conduct security operations in Iraq.

The 299th Chemical Company had their ceremony Sunday at the Mason County High School in Maysville.

According to 1st Lt. Stephen Martin, 167 soldiers are being deployed. Those soldiers are mainly from Maysville and Morehead units.

“For clarification purposes, even though the 299th and the 301st are chemical decontamination units, their primary mission in Iraq will be base security. Their mission will not entail chemical decontamination,” the press release said.

While this is the first deployment for both units in support of Global War on Terror, a large number of soldiers have deployed previously with other Kentucky National Guard Units, the release said.

Since Sept. 11, 2001 more than 10,000 Kentucky National Guard soldiers and Airmen have deployed in support of Global War on Terror. The Kentucky National Guard currently has nearly 350 troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the globe.