RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota National Guard unit is heading to Afghanistan for the second time.

Family and friends filled a high school gym in Rapid City Saturday to salute 124 soldiers of the Guard’s 235th Military Police Company. They will deploy to Fort Bliss in Texas before shipping off to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan for nine months.

The unit will guard prisoners and patrol the perimeter of the base.

Governor Dennis Daugaard (DOO’-gahrd), the keynote speaker, thanked the soldiers for their service and the families for their support. He told the unit it’s important to communicate with family members while overseas “because they love you.”

Specialist Brandon Schwans tells the Rapid City Journal that the unit is looking forward to the mission and says they have “trained a lot for this.”