UNITED STATES -- Back in January, more than 1,700 National Guard soldiers left home for training in Camp Shelby, Mississippi. Now, those men and women are starting to deploy overseas.

A total of 650 members of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team departed for Kuwait and Afghanistan over Easter weekend. The troops in Kuwait will be responsible for providing security and administrative support to U.S. military facilities in Kuwait.

The 250 soldiers going to Afghanistan will help close down American military facilities in that country. Those troops are based out of Syracuse's Hancock Field.

Both deployments are expected to last nine months.