About 25 local members of the Alabama Army National Guard’s 1165th Military Police Co. will take part in a departure ceremony Monday.
The guard unit, which also includes members from Fairhope and Thomasville, has been called to active duty in Afghanistan. The unit will report for 28 days of training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi before departing overseas.
Sgt. Frank Barnes, who is in charge of the local unit members, said the company’s mission involves security.
“Our job is to make sure no one gets to where they don’t belong,” Barnes said. “Nationals are allowed on base and it is part of our duty to check and know everyone who comes onto the base. This is the first time a Military Police company is to be the security force for the camp. We are taking over from a transportation company.”
The departure ceremony  will be held in Fairhope Civic Center, located in the Fairhope Municipal Complex at 161 North Section St., at noon, Monday.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend the ceremony to show their support for the 1165th soldiers and their families.