Mass. National Guard Troops To Deploy To Kabul

Gov. Deval Patrick is planning to attend a send-off ceremony for soldiers of the Massachusetts National Guard's 26th "Yankee" Brigade headed for Afghanistan.

The ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday at Reading Memorial High School.

More than 200 soldiers of the 26th Brigade Headquarters and 26th Signal Company have received one-year mobilization orders for deployment to Afghanistan.

The 26th Brigade Headquarters will assume command of the Kabul Base Cluster, made up of 11 U.S. bases operating in the country's Kabul Province.

The "Yankee" Brigade will join about 700 Yankee Brigade Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, currently in Afghanistan.