by Nick Delgado

Guam - While 24,000 troops will be pulling out of the country, hundreds of guardsmen from the National Guard are preparing for an upcoming mission to Afghanistan. Adjutant General Benny Paulino says the troops are in training mode as they will play an integral role in training afghan security in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

There are 17 hundred soldiers enlisted and commissioned with the guam air and army national guard today, and an alert order calls for more than 600 soldiers from guam and the cnmi to be mobilized for deployment.

"We're preparing to continue to be prepared for our state mission should we need it if we need given the fact that one third of our organization will be deployed. It's no different it's not as challenging as other states have had to cope with."

The adjutant general is hoping that he can provide assistance to government agencies that will be significantly impacted by personnel who will be deployed including many of the public safety agencies.