More than 160 soldiers with the 623rd engineer company said good-bye to their families at a send off ceremony Thursday.

The Wahoo-based unit will spend the next year in Afghanistan supporting operation enduring freedom.

Friends and family filled the Wahoo High School auditorium to spend a few more minutes with their soldier before saying good-bye for a year.

Like anytime a soldier is asked to leave his family, there was a solemn feeling at the ceremony.

For Staff Sergeant Chris Harmon the feeling is familiar. This is the second time he has been asked to leave his family. He served in Iraq in 2004.

"Its not routine. That's the hardest part about deployment is leaving the family behind. I've got 4 kids and my wife's workload doubles and its tough enough already I guess," Harmon said.

His 4 children made signs and have dolls with a picture of their dad as the face.

Sergeant Shiloh Littrel's family is also dealing with their second deployment.

"Actually I think its harder this time," Littrels Aunt Barbie Long said. "We didn't really know what it was like last time. It was all new. Now its Afghanistan a totally different place."

Many have been in harms way before, but for some this is their first trip abroad. Harmon says the younger ones will be looking to him for leadership.

"They've been planning this for about a year now," Lieutenant Colonel Troy Paisley said. "So there is a lot of build up to this. A lot of anxiety but a lot of anticipation. They're ready to go."

And as the soldiers say their last good-byes, they know their families will be counting the days until they return home.

"We love him. We're very very proud of him. We are going to be here back in Nebraska praying for him everyday," Long said. "We just want him to know that we love you and we are proud of you and we are going to be praying for you every minute of every day until he comes back safely with the rest of the troops because they are all in this together."

The unit will be responsible for building barracks, guard towers and other structures for troops stationed in Afghanistan.

The soldiers will receive additional training at Fort Bliss, Texas. They will then fly to Kuwait in December, then on to Afghanistan.

Families say they will pray for their safety until the troop returns home.