National Guard members received some valuable training at Fort Drum in Watertown to prepare them for a mission in Afghanistan.

The New York National Guard's 27th Brigade Combat Team is in the midst of an intense three-week training period. The soldiers learn important lessons from Iraq war veterans so they will be better prepared for when they deploy to Afghanistan.

Even when the soldiers boarded a C-130 military transport plane to get to Fort Drum, they took part in a simulated drill of a medical emergency. The medics quickly simulate how they'd treat a real patient in a warfare emergency.

All the training is to make sure that the National Guard members are ready for a variety of situations in Afghanistan. The soldiers will deploy for a yearlong mission in January.