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ALEXANDRIA, La. – Friends and family members of the Louisiana National Guard’s 844th Engineer Company bid a fond farewell at the Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center in Alexandria, La., during a deployment ceremony, Aug. 18, 2013. The 844th, based in Pineville, La., with two detachment locations in Ruston, La., and Monroe, La., deployed more than 160 Soldiers to Kuwait in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to conduct horizontal construction operations to help maintain and upgrade base camps and provide engineer support for all base camps throughout Kuwait. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by 2nd Lt. Rebekah Malone, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office/ Released)