Even though soldiers in the 623rd Engineer Company won't deploy for almost another year, the Nebraska Army National Guard has already started to prepare friends and loved ones.

The 623rd Engineer Company is headed for eastern Afghanistan sometime late next year. The 623rd is a "vertical engineering company" that builds structures for troop housing and storage facilities as well as other buildings. The company is based out of Wahoo, but has a detachment in Hastings. This will be the first overseas deployment for the 623rd, but some of the soldiers in it have already been deployed once or twice.

Friday night's town hall meeting in Hastings was to help brief employers, families, and friends of the soldiers about what the timeline for deployment is, what the 623rd will be doing, and why they're going.

The leaders of the 623rd also wanted to inform soldier families about other meetings and Family Readiness Events that will take place over the next year.

First Lieutenant Chris Pelchat spoke to the attending family and friends at the meeting. Pelchat will be commanding the 623rd. He talked about the role the Family Readiness Group has before and during deployment, resources available for soldier families, and how families can support each other while their soldier is away.

"It's important to me to have a strong Family Readiness Group because when we recruit the soldier, we do really recruit the family too," Pelchat said. "It's a good policy of mine to have my leadership introduce themselves to the families so they know exactly who they are taking care of, and who has a vested interest in the soldier that they're watching over."

A lot of the questions were basic ones: what is Afghanistan like? Will the 623rd stay together once there? Do soldiers get leave during their 12 month deployment?

Pelchat said answering those questions is the purpose of the meeting.

"That's exactly what I expect to be asked," he said. "These are the same questions I get from my family. It's important to communicate with [the soldiers], to know that they're okay on a frequent basis. As leadership [we need to] make sure we're keeping our families well informed."

Another Nebraska National Guard brigade had an informational town hall meeting Thursday night in Hastings as well, with the same goal as the 623rd: making ready families.