NEW YORK (PIX11) --- Nearly 200 National Guard Army soldiers have been deployed to Texas to help authorities protect the southern border from illegal crossings, officials said Wednesday.

The 125 soldiers of the 442nd Military Police Battalion on Long Island and 63 soldiers from the 104th Military Police Battalion in Kingston, N.Y. have already left for Texas for training, according to officials.

The soldiers are expected to be in Texas for 14 months.

The 104th soldiers will command seven companies, including a maintenance company and transportation companies, in the Laredo Sector.

"Our Soldiers have been preparing for this deployment for most of the past year and are ready and well trained for their mission assisting the Border Patrol," said Lt. Col. Nicholas Paolini, the commander of

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