By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – A 16-person team of citizen soldiers from the Alabama Guard's 62nd Troop Command will help train the Afghanistan National Army, according to a statement from the Alabama National Guard.
Team members are from the 1st Battalion 167th Infantry from Talladega and the 1st Battalion 117th Field Artillery Regiment in Andalusia.
The Alabama soldiers will teach infantry tactics to members of the Afghan army.
The training team has been called to active duty for up to 18 months, the statement said. They will train for their mission at Fort Riley, Kansas before deployment.
A departure ceremony is to be held for the guardsmen at noon Saturday at the Fort Taylor Hardin National Guard armory on the Northeast Bypass in Montgomery.