JONESBORO, Ark. -- Members of the Arkansas National Guard's 1037th Engineer Company, 875th Engineer Battalion are preparing for deployment to Afghanistan.

The more than 200 soldiers will leave Tuesday from Jonesboro for Fort McCoy, Wisc., for two months training before going to Afghanistan in January.

The 1037th will join engineering companies from Washington, Southern Oregon, South Carolina and North Carolina to form a special route-clearance task force in which they find and destroy roadside bombs.