(AP) -- ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Army National Guard soldiers from across New York are preparing to mobilize in support of U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
Guard officials say some 1,800 soldiers assigned to the Syracuse-based 27th Brigade Combat Team will mobilize this weekend as part of the brigade's deployment to Kuwait. The soldiers will head first to Camp Shelby in Mississippi before departing for Kuwait in April.
The deployment is expected to last up to a year.
Most of the soldiers are members of the New York National Guard's Utica-based 108th Infantry Regiment, which has elements in the Mohawk and Hudson valleys and in the Finger Lakes region.
Other units being deployed include New York City's 69th Infantry Regiment and battalions with units based in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and the North Country.
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