Dozens of Florida Army National Guard soldiers said goodbye to family and friends Monday as they began a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan.

A farewell ceremony was held at Daytona Beach International Airport for the nearly 200 soldiers from the Florida Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Gov. Rick Scott was also in attendance.

The soldiers from units in Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties are deploying to Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel for a base security mission.

Maj. Gen. Emmett R. Titshaw, Jr., adjutant general of Florida's Air and Army National Guard, said this is the beginning of what could be a string of deployments across the state.

"Recently there's been very few deployments over the last six months to a year. But this unit, the first unit of 185 soldiers that is beginning the leading edge of a new deployment cycle, so the next 12 months we'll deploy nearly 1,400 soldiers and airmen of the Florida National Guard," said Titshaw.

The soldiers will take part in three months of training at Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort Sill in Oklahoma before heading overseas for six months.