More than 100 members of the Canadian military said goodbye to their families as they left for Afghanistan Thursday.

The 135 soldiers, mostly from CFB Petawawa, are the first of a 700-person task force to participate in the third rotation of troops for Operation Athena.

"Really the ultimate aim is to carry on with what has been done, to maintain security and stability in Afghanistan," said camp commander Capt. Steven Burgess.

Afghanistan faces a possible election in May. Although on Thursday, the country's march to democracy hit a potential speed bump after Foreign Minister Abdullah said that technical challenges of organizing the vote could delay the process by as much as two months, reports the Associated Press.

The foreign minister, who like many Afghans uses only one name, did not elaborate on what technical preparations could cause the delay.

The Canadian deployment from CFB Petawawa will relieve troops from Edmonton.

For Captain Mark Popov, it'll be his fourth mission overseas. The first, though, since his daughter Klara was born.

"We're pretty lucky over there, they've given us a lot of ways to keep in touch with families. It's not going to be the same as being able to pick [Klara]up," said a tearful Popov, "but we'll keep in touch."

Another seven flights will be leaving Canada for Afghanistan over the next month.

The soldiers will be stationed at Camp Julien in Kabul, and are part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force of about 9,500 troops from 38 countries.

With a report from CJOH's Natalie van den Bosch