Members of 181st Infantry head to Afghanistan

Family and friends gathered at Commerce Bank Park in Worcester for a send-off ceremony for more than 670 members of the Massachusetts National Guard who are headed to Afghanistan.

Members of the 181st Infantry Regiment from armories in Worcester, Gardner and Cambridge are heading out Sunday.  Their deployment is expected to last about one year.

Their job will be to provide security to twelve provincial reconstruction teams working to extend the authority of the Afghan central government and to help with reconstruction projects throughout the country.

It's the largest battalion deployment from Massachusetts since World War II.