CANTON, Ohio (AP) — A call to duty ceremony has been held for nearly 600 citizen-soldiers of the Ohio National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment who are deploying to the Middle East.

Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, and the state’s adjutant general, Maj. Gen. John Harris Jr., took part in the ceremony held Sunday at the Canton Memorial Civic Center in northeast Ohio.

About 580 members of the Stow-based National Guard unit will be deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield.

During the deployment, the soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment will be part of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, made up of 4,200 National Guard members from Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.