Some local soldiers are preparing to head to Iraq. Warsaw-based Company A left Wednesday morning for training in southern Indiana. Company A is in the 293rd Regiment of the 76th Infantry Brigade. But Wednesday's goodbye won't last very long.

The familiar scene of a deployment is filled with emotion. Newlyweds Star and Tristan Brubaker spent as long as possible together before Tristan boarded the bus.

"[I'm] scared, sad, nervous, just don't want him to go," explained Star.

Tristan admitted he was a little scared too.

Some of Company A's soldiers are on their third and fourth deployments. But war is a place many of the 150 men in Company A have never been.

"I don't know yet what to expect," said Spc. Jeremy Hurst. He's deploying with his brother-in-law Spc. Justin Hathaway. Both live in South Bend.

"Just kinda ready to get it over with honestly," Hathaway told WSBT. "It's been a long couple months waiting for it."

As the soldiers packed their bags into a truck and boarded the bus, they knew they won't be gone for long. They're scheduled to spend 2 weeks training at Camp Atterbury in southern Indiana. Then they'll come back on December 22 to spend Christmas and New Year's with their families.

"It's going to be exciting!" said Jessie Flumbaum, a Company A wife already thinking of the holidays.

The soldiers are also making national history. They're part of a larger group of 3,500 leaving from the RCA Dome in January. It's the biggest deployment since World War II.

As a police escort guided them out of Warsaw early Wednesday morning, hundreds of supporters lined the streets and joined in on a send off.

"They're all part of us, and it's just -- we want them to know we care about them," said Carla Brown.

Brian Geiger said supporting local troops is something he believes in. He knows those beliefs are also what Company A soldiers will cling to, at a time when they're putting on their own lives on hold to serve our country.

Company A's job in Iraq will be to help guard convoys and provide security.

The Company's official deployment will be from the RCA Dome on January 2. They will spend some time training in Georgia before leaving for Iraq.