Hours before President Obama laid out his plans for Afghanistan, New Hampshire sent off 140 more of its soldiers into the now eight-year-long war.

Hundreds filled the Milford Middle School gym last night to say goodbye for a year to the men of Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment. They'll leave the state within the week for training, one company within a 3,000-member brigade whose departure will mark the largest deployment in the Vermont National Guard's history.

Military and political officials last night described the company's task in different ways, though without much detail: Defeat the Taliban. Provide stability to the Afghan people. Build their confidence in their government.

It is a combat mission. The company's commander, Capt. Daniel Newman, told the soldiers' families he could not comfort them, for there would be no comfort in sending a loved one off to war.

"What I can tell you," he said, "is I won't ask these soldiers to do anything I wouldn't do myself."

Being a soldier, he said, is

"not just about being the strong arm of American policy, or giving the beautiful people of Afghanistan the little piece of freedom we've had. . . . It's about family."

Families filled the bleachers and lined the gym walls last night, spilling into the floor. Mothers struggled to maneuver with strollers. A group of Boy Scouts wiggled through the crowd, carrying signs reading "Milford supports our troops."

A group of older veterans stood near the front of the gym, waiting for the ceremony to begin. "27,000 divorces in the military," one man in a Korea hat said to a friend, referring to annual statistics reported last week. "27,000."

Then the bagpipers began. Everyone rose as the soldiers entered to a drumbeat, one by one removing their black caps as they crossed the gym floor.

"In combat operations, you are the tip of the spear," Maj. Gen. William Reddel, the New Hampshire Guard's adjutant general, told the soldiers. "You are the most persuasive fighting system in our military arsenal."

More than half of the soldiers, who are all men, have deployed before. To their families, Reddel promised support. "We understand this will be a very stressful time," he said. "And we have learned from previous deployments that we can and will do more."

Gov. John Lynch thanked the soldiers and families for their "enormous sacrifice" and assured them - "and I know I speak for everybody in New Hampshire, you will be in our thoughts and prayers."

As the drumbeat began again, families rose to find their soldiers.

Sgt. Sarah Miner, 27, stood waiting for her husband. She and Staff Sgt. Peter Miner Jr., 24, met while serving together in Iraq in 2007. "I thought he was cute," she said, "so I kept him."

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