Commanded by Lt. Col. Michael Ferguson, the 201st Engineer Battalion, consisting of units from Ashland, Olive Hill, Cynthiana, and Prestonsburg, departed for Afghanistan in March 2008. The 201st's primary mission was route clearance and construction, removing obstacles and ensuring main supply routes remained open.

Engineers covered nine different provinces, clearing hundreds of acres of mine fields and destroying more than 14,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance.

"No matter what you did in Afghanistan, or where you did it, the 201st always went in first," said Maj. Gen. Edward W. Tonini, adjutant general of Kentucky. "They were a well-known commodity there, and everyone knew the 201st and the nature of their job."

This is the second time the 201st has deployed in the Global War on Terror. Members of the 201st were activated in 2003 for Operation Noble Eagle, a stateside deployment to provide security at military bases around the United States.

Since Sept. 11, 2001, more than 10,000 members of the Kentucky Army and Air National Guard have deployed worldwide in the Global War on Terror.