By Nathan Daggett / Assistant News Director

Soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard will be honored before their deployment Friday at Camp Ripley in Little Falls. 

Nearly 700 soldiers from the Mankato-based 2nd Battalion have been quarantined at Camp Ripley since the first week of June and will depart for Fort Bliss, Texas for additional training. They will then be deployed to the Horn of Africa. 

A departure ceremony will be followed by a meal and virtual event with families on Friday from 4-6 p.m.

National Guard Public Affairs Officer Melanie Nelson says with COVID-19 restricting traditional military departure ceremonies and family send-offs, the St. Paul-based civic group Serving Our Troops is hosting a special socially-distanced ceremony and a simultaneous statewide virtual steak meal cookout for soldiers and their families.