Some 60 members of the 108th Air Wing said goodbye to family and friends before dawn on Monday.
Action News was at McGuire Air Force Base for the emotional goodbye.
The troops will serve six months overseas supporting air operations at bases.
Senior Airman Brian Trinidad is among those deploying. He has a wife and three children, including a daughter who celebrated her birthday on Christmas.
Trinidad said he is eager to go overseas.
"I'm pretty anxious, I'm ready to go. I'm pretty motivated about it. We've known since February that we're leaving, so I'm just ready to go," he said.
"I'm sad because he's leaving for six months, but I'm hoping those six months will go by pretty fast," said Trinidad's wife, Marisol.
Trinidad's mom says, when he gets home, she'll get him whatever he needs.
