The Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association hosted a Military Appreciation Sendoff for a group of soldiers from all over the state Wednesday.

Area tourism and political leaders helped honor the group. Many of the soldiers are in town for classroom training to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan in the fall. Soldiers talked about leaving home and staying focused.

"This is the first time their daddy has ever been away in a battlefield type situation. There's always that possibility we may never come back," said Raymond Haselden, 178th First Batallion. "When you're in that type of combat environment, if you've got other things going on.. that detract from the mission, it can affect whether you accomplish that mission or not and lead to the loss of unnecessary lives," said Christine Glover, 178th First Batallion.

The soldiers received gift bags with member discounts to attractions to dining coupons and other items.