Stillwater residents say goodbye to National Guard soldiers headed to Afghanistan

Pam Perry had a good reason for joining hundreds of people lining the streets Wednesday as an Oklahoma National Guard unit departed for out-of-state training prior to deployment to Afghanistan. "The reason we can stand here is the freedom they are going over there to protect," she said. Another reason: Her son, Patrick Perry, although in a different unit, will also soon deploy to Afghanistan. The Oklahoma National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will send 3,400 troops to that war-torn country early this summer.