Cpl. Matt Ellis and Master Warrant Office Tim Ramsay leave the Pine Grove-based flight this month for Kandahar Airfield on a deployment that could last into September.

 It marks the first major deployment of Cpl. Ellis' career. Cpl. Ellis said he is eager to get going this time after courses related to his trade as a vehicle technician, which were priority, prevented the Lunenburg-born soldier from getting on board the last round of voluntary tour opportunities to the war-torn region. Several members of the flight have enjoyed successful deployments to Kandahar Airfield.

 "There will be a lot of things that will be very different from what I'm used to here," he said in a recent interview. "There will be lots of new things for me, I guess you could say."

 It's the same case for Master Warrant Officer (MWO) Ramsay although he's a contrast to Cpl. Ellis' Armed Forces tenure.

 MWO Ramsay logged 28 years in regular force duty and rejoined the local reserves in 2006 after a stint working in a home-based civilian business. The 50-year-old is a seasoned veteran of numerous deployments outside Canada during his career, including stops in Bosnia and the Golan Heights.

 The chief of officer training within the 143 flight said this deployment will open his eyes to how people in Afghanistan live and survive.

 "I think you learn to respect what you have at home," MWO Ramsay said, when asked of his expectations. "It's respect for what we have as Canadians."

 Both men consulted their families before taking on the posting and each family was both accepting and a little apprehensive.

 "My mother's a little worried but she knows this is what I want to do, so she's okay with it. She supports me."

 MWO Ramsay received backing from his family and suggested it's sometimes about convincing families to look at the bigger picture.

 "Like all of our parents, loved ones and friends, everyone's concerned … but that's the reality of the mission," he said.

 "We just have to encourage them and let them know that what we're doing is a worthwhile cause and we're excited to be a part of it."

 Cpl. Ellis, who like his other airfield colleagues has been training for months in preparation for the mission, will be doing base maintenance on Armed Forces transportation, such as light armoured vehicles.

 MWO Ramsay's job will be contract supervision. He'll be tasked with overseeing construction jobs paid for with Canadian dollars that are being done by locals in various areas.

 "My focus will be to make sure that we get the job we're paying for," he said, adding, "I'm just excited about having the opportunity to serve and hopefully everything will go the way it should."