The California state flag waved proudly in the breeze from the hatch of a C-130J Super Hercules in June, parked of all places, at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team took the phrase “train as you fight” to a new level during this year’s annual training (AT) at Camp Roberts, Calif., from June 6-20. Units in the brigade went back to their roots, got their hands on some new equipment and honed their warrior skills.

California National Guard Soldiers are at the tip of the spear in some of the heaviest fighting in the Afghanistan theater of operations. Embedded transition team (ETT) members are the U.S. Army’s modern combat advisers, mentoring and assisting Afghan National Army (ANA) Soldiers in becoming a self-sufficient, professional fighting force able to defend their country and provide a stable living environment for the citizens of Afghanistan.

Family, friends and fellow California National Guardsmen said their goodbyes to 175 military police Soldiers before their year-long deployment to Afghanistan at the San Diego Marriott Hotel on May 29.