LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It's the hardest goodbye for a soldier and his family.
Many were too upset to speak as they bid farewell to deploying members of Kentucky's National Guard's 138th Artillery Brigade.
They clung to final moments with the ones they love.
"Pray for our troops. You don't know what they're going to face. Hold onto all those memories of your loved ones," said one woman whose husband will be embarking on his first deployment.
"I'm sad to leave my family for this amount of time, but I will say that here in the 138 we have done a lot to prepare our soldiers and technology has put us in a great position where we can still communicate," said soldier Alexander Bush.
More than 100 soldiers will head to southwest Asia to continue U.S. military operations.
A 10-month job that feels like a lifetime for their families still here on U.S. soil.
"I have two daughters that are two and six months. So, it is tough to leave them behind," said Bush.
