The deployment of troops from CFB Petawawa to the war zone in Afghanistan begins in just 10 days.
A total of 2,500 soldiers will be shipped overseas between Aug. 25 and early October for a mission that will last six months.
In preparation for the deployment, Petawawa's base commander told CTV Ottawa he's busy offering support to both soldiers and their families.
"It's not just to prepare the troops themselves, also to support the families and help individual soldiers get their affairs in order so that not only soldiers but their families, they are ready to go," Lt.-Col. William Moore said.
"We're blessed with the support we get within the Ottawa Valley, particularly in the town of Petawawa."
With so many troops living in the area surrounding the base, Moore says the deployment will be felt throughout the region, especially during winter months.
"With this deployment of 2,500, you know coaching staff will be short this winter at ice arenas, Cub Scout leaders will be gone, so it really does reach throughout the whole community."
CFB Petawawa has spent a full year preparing for this deployment. The base saw as many as 4,000 troops training at once over the course of the last year.
The last deployment from the base was in April, when 300 troops left for a 10-month mission in Kandahar. They are serving at the Kandahar Base Headquarters and waiting to be joined by the main body of soldiers being deployed next week.
