The troops will make up a task force that will train the Afghan National Army. It is not a mission typically done by Guard troops, but was assigned to them because the Army is stretched thin by the war on terror.

The deployment comes less than three months before Afghanistan's first direct presidential election on Oct. 9. President Bush has called the elections "a critical step forward in Afghanistan's transition to democracy."

"We'll see the first time a democracy's ever happened in the country," said Brig. Gen. Richard Moorhead, 50, commanding general of the task force at Camp Atterbury.

The elections could bring a surge in violence by those seeking to undermine the new government. Last month, as many as 17 Afghan men were reportedly killed for carrying election registration cards. Six election workers - four Afghan women and two British contractors - also were killed in attacks.

The Indiana Guard's 76th Brigade is overseeing the task force, called Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix III. About 1,000 of the 1,400 troops deploying from the task force are from the Indiana Guard.

The brigade will be helped by units from Missouri, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New Hampshire, Florida, Montana, Maryland, Alabama, Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Texas and California.

The Indiana brigade will be only the second Guard unit to oversee the training of Afghan fighters. It replaces a task force led by the 45th Brigade of the Oklahoma National Guard.

Maj. Eric Bloom, a public affairs officer with the Oklahoma National Guard, said the 2,700 troops assigned to the Oklahoma-led task force have helped the Afghan army provide security for voter registration.

"From what we can see, the Afghanis want to stand up and go to the polls for themselves, something the majority have never had the opportunity to do," said Bloom in a telephone interview from Afghanistan.

Besides running military training academies, the Oklahoma Guard soldiers are deployed as trainers on combat and stability operations, Bloom said. The replacement troops will take on similar missions as "embedded trainers" in sometimes remote locations with Afghan fighters.

The Oklahoma Guard is expected to remain in Afghanistan for about six weeks to help the Indiana Guard with the transition, Bloom said.

Staff Sgt. Tina Mullins, 27, of Windfall, Ind., will deploy with her husband, Staff Sgt. Michael Mullins, 30. She said it was a great opportunity.

"I think, unfortunately, Iraq overshadows Afghanistan," she said. "People tend to forget that there are things going on in Afghanistan, and we're still there for a mission. People are losing their lives."

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