BLUEFIELD, W.Va. -- A Military Police unit based in Bluefield is preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan later this summer.

The Bluefield Daily Telegraph reports that the 304th MP unit U.S. Army Reserves will head to Fort Bush, Texas in late August for a six-day stay before being deployed to Afghanistan.

The unit commander, Capt. Jared Peck, says a departure ceremony is being planned for Aug. 23. He says the unit will be on active duty status for a year, with about nine months of that time in Afghanistan.