Nearly 200 soldiers with the 120th Engineer Battalion marched single file to their seats in front of the stage at ORU's Mabee Center.
Most of them will leave for Texas this weekend, then head to Afghanistan.
One of the first people we met at the recent farewell ceremony was Maj. Kenneth Mitchell.
He says, "I was born in northeast Oklahoma in a town of Pryor Creek America and spent a lot of my time there. I joined the military when I was 17 and as soon as I graduated high school I was gone."
Maj. Mitchell is a seasoned member of the military.
It has been more than twenty-six years since the major signed up to be a soldier.
He has sat through many pre-deployment briefings.
This one was by far more the most uncomfortable.
“I’ve sat through lots of those and never had any trouble. But, when I sat through the one about the mission I know she’s going on I felt a knot in my stomach and I was not happy.”
That’s because Mitchell’s daughter is among this group of soldiers.
This is her first deployment overseas.
“She volunteered for this deployment. This isn’t even her unit. But, she wanted to do her duty.”
He's a concerned father and a proud fellow soldier.
“I have a lot of pride, absolutely.”
Now, it's Major Mitchell's turn to wait for his loved on to come home from Afghanistan.