A send-off ceremony is planned at Rhinelander High School Sunday in honor of Wisconsin Army National Guard soldiers preparing for service in Afghanistan.

About 100 members of the 951st Sapper Company from Tomahawk and Rhinelander are being mobilized for about one year for the deployment. A sapper military unit's duties include building fortifications and trenches, or undermining enemy positions.

After the ceremony, they're due to leave for Camp Shelby in Mississippi for several weeks of training before deploying overseas. They'll be supporting security operations in Afghanistan.

The unit was known as company C of the 724th Engineer Battalion in 2003 when it mobilized for 14 months as a support unit in Iraq.

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