Approximately 500 Alabama National Guard soldiers from the 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, stationed in Florence, were deployed Oct. 30 to begin training and then missions in Afghanistan.

Among the troops who left for training at Fort Louis, Wash., were several members of the community, university and families of UNA students, who now are waiting for their family members to leave for Afghanistan.

“I’m not as concerned as why they’re over there, but it’s my family over there,” said Samantha Gross, a UNA junior and daughter of Sgt. First Class Darren Gross of the 115th. “The troops are my family. They aren’t just stick figures.

“It’s one of those things that is ingrained in (military families). A lot of people have different reasons for what they believe we’re fighting. For me, it’s my dad over there.”

According to the Alabama National Guard’s official announcement, the 115th Expeditionary Signal Battalion was called in to active duty to support Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, to help units throughout the country with information and communication technologies and support.

The members of the 115th Battalion will join the more than 17,000 personnel from the Alabama National Guard who have joined active duty since operations in the Middle East began after 9/11.

“We don’t ever forget he’s over there, but you just have to maintain normalcy of your life,” said Lacy Triplett, a senior at UNA majoring in journalism and Spanish, about her father First Sgt. Robbie Triplett of the 115th Battalion. “We might actually get to talk to him more with recent things like Skype.”

Innovations like Skype and other advances in technology are looking to make Sgt. Triplett’s second deployment overseas a different affair than his first deployment seven years ago, but, for Lacy Triplett, it could either be a good or bad thing.

“We kind of know a little bit more now,” she said. “We’re more aware. Whether that’s a good thing, I don’t know.”

According to Gross, the community around the families with members stationed overseas is strong, to the point that both her mom and Triplett’s mom were in the same family readiness training group, though Triplett and Gross had never met each other.

“Sunday was the first time we actually got to meet each other,” Gross said. “It feels good knowing that I can go to her and tell her when it’s going rough. We’re in the same boat.”

With this being her father’s second deployment as well, Gross has an idea of what she and other families can do to keep living a normal life.

“We firmly believe positive things happen to positive people,” Gross said. “It doesn’t guarantee everything is going to go my way, but it helps me sleep better at night.”