ST. PAUL — More than 220 soldiers from the Minnesota Army National Guard are preparing for a yearlong deployment to Kuwait.

Members of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade will gather with family members Friday at the guard’s aviation support facility in St. Paul before the soldiers head to the Camp Ripley Training Center in Little Falls for two weeks.

Their training will include battle drills, weapons qualifying and maintaining physical and mental fitness. KSTP-TV reports the soldiers will deploy in June in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.