ROCK HILL — A community send-off ceremony for Army National Guard soldiers from the Rock Hill armory who are heading to Afghanistan will be at 11 a.m. July 8 at Winthrop Coliseum.

The ceremony honors the soldiers, as well as the families that each soldier is leaving. Doors open at 10 a.m. Dignitaries and soldiers will speak.

The public is invited to attend, said Joe Medlin, command sergeant major for the 178th battalion.

Veterans of Foreign Wars posts are serving lunch to the soldiers and families, said Anne Cash, family readiness group coordinator.

Anyone wishing to make a banner that will be hung at the ceremony is asked to bring it to the National Guard armory, 126 Museum Road, Rock Hill, by 5 p.m. Thursday.

More than 160 soldiers are in the 178th Combat Engineers Battalion. The unit will have construction, security and bomb clearance duties in Afghanistan.

Many of the soldiers have previously been to deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or both.

Andrew Dys 803-329-4065