Twenty-two soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard Agri-Business Development Team will leave Minnesota for training Tuesday for a one-year deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

"This is a unique and important mission that will take citizen-soldiers working in Minnesota's agricultural sector and seek to leverage their skills and abilities in Afghanistan," said Army Col. Eric D. Ahlness, Minnesota National Guard ADT Commander.

"The agricultural team members have a tremendous variety of skills," said Ahlness. "We have a university professor with a agribusiness economics specialty, veterinarians, a value chain development specialist, agronomists, livestock specialists, two engineers, a lab technician, and a hydrologist. Combined with other unique jobs such as bee keeping and we have an exceptional array of assistance we can provide to Afghan farmers"

"This is a mission that is well suited for the Guard because we are citizen-soldiers with strong skill sets which we've learned in the civilian sector," said Ahlness. "And we do it much better due to the coalition of academia, business, and individuals who willingly provide advice, guidance and training to our team."

This is the first ADT fielded by the Minnesota National Guard and we are scheduled to arrive in Zabul Province in Southern Afghanistan this October, said Ahlness. The unit will begin its mission of supporting the Afghan government, specifically the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, in providing education and support to farmers, as well as in developing value chains, co-ops and other sustainable initiatives. In Afghanistan, 80 percent of the people earn their living from agri-business.

Members of the media and the general public are invited to attend the departure ceremony Friday, September 30 at 3 p.m. at St Paul Armory, 600 Cedar St., St. Paul, Minn., 55155. Members of the media are invited to arrive 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the ceremony.