There were tears on the faces of many people at Cyril King Airport on Monday morning as friends and families sent off 72 soldiers of the Virgin Islands National Guard 786th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.

And while there was sadness in saying farewell to loved ones, people also spoke of pride in seeing the soldiers ready to accomplish an important mission.

On St. Croix, family, friends, colleagues and leaders of the National Guard arrived at Rohlsen Airport early Monday to see approximately 20 soldiers deploy to Guantanamo Bay.

The troops gathered about an hour before takeoff before flying to St. Thomas to join the rest of the 786th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion.

Once on St. Thomas, the soldiers joined the St. Thomas contingent as they stood at attention in the airport. Friends and family looked on as the soldiers were addressed by V.I. Adjutant General Renaldo Rivera, Gov. John deJongh Jr. and company commander 1st Lt. Josephine Hector Murphy.

"It is an honor to be here with one of the treasures of the Virgin Islands standing right here," deJongh said of the troops.

From St. Thomas the battalion was scheduled to fly to Fort Lewis in Washington state for two weeks of pre-deployment training. They will then travel to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Command Sergeant Major Barry Fredericks said the soldiers were in a festive joyous mood, most of them heading for their first tour of duty. "Some of it is anticipation, but it's excitement. You can see the happiness in their faces," Fredericks said.

Samantha Bryan was one of the soldiers on her first deployment. She said she was excited and ready to serve.

"I'm taking it one second at a time," she said.

Fredericks also said some of the soldiers are on their third tour of duty, thus completing the trilogy of the global war on terror - Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo.

Rivera made sure he made it around to all the soldiers deployed to greet them and their families gathered outside the hospitality room at the airport.

Rivera said the soldiers are well-prepared for the mission. "I call them the jewels of the National Guard," he said. "They're the pick of the litter. They will do a good job, they're well-trained and ready to go."

While speaking to the soldiers in the room briefly, Rivera said the National Guard has a good family support system while they are away. He also encouraged family members and troops to stay in touch during the deployment.

On both St. Thomas and St. Croix, Rivera asked for a moment of silence to remember Lewayne Fraser, who was killed in a shooting early Saturday morning. Fraser was scheduled to deploy with the group.

The soldiers finally were called one by one to board a waiting charter jet. As soldiers' names were called, cheers arose from the crowd and family and friends watched the men and women in military fatigues walk across the tarmac and board the jet.