Five hundred Army National Guard soldiers from across New York are deploying overseas for nearly a year with the Troy-based 42nd Infantry Division, the National Guard announced.

Farewell events were held Sunday in Syracuse and Albany and on Long Island for the soldiers, who departed for additional training to prepare to lead Task Force Spartan, a U.S. military posture in Southwest Asia. 

Nearly half of the deployment will come from Garden City, Long Island, while 80 "citizen soldiers" from the Syracuse area and 180 from the Capital Region said goodbye to their family members during the goodbye ceremonies.

At the Empire State Convention Center in Albany, Maj. Gen. Michel Natali urged guard members to look out for one another.

"Treat one another and those you encounter with dignity and respect and apply lessons learned from those who have deployed before you to do your jobs," Natali said.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to reflect the proper spelling of Maj. Gen. Natali's first name.