Pentagon Tells 35,000 Troops: Prepare To Deploy

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has notified more than 35,000 Army soldiers to be prepared to deploy to Iraq beginning this fall, a move that would allow commanders to maintain the ongoing buildup of troops through the end of the year if needed.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said yesterday the deployment orders, which have been signed by Defense Secretary Gates, do not mean that the military has made a decision to keep the increased level of 20 brigades in Iraq through December. A brigade is roughly 3,500 soldiers.

Instead, he said the decision gives the Pentagon the "capability" to carry the buildup to the end of the year. The replacement forces, Mr. Whitman said, would give commanders in Iraq the flexibility they need to complete the mission there.

The announcement, said Mr. Whitman, has "nothing to do" with a decision to extend the troop buildup. He said the Pentagon "has been very clear that a decision about the duration of the surge will depend on conditions on the ground."

Early this year, President Bush ordered close to 30,000 additional troops to Iraq to quell the spiking violence particularly in and around Baghdad. Mr. Gates and his military leaders have said commanders in Iraq will make recommendations in September on whether the buildup has been successful, and whether it should continue or if troops can begin coming home.

There has been increasing pressure from Congress and the American public to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. Mr. Bush vetoed the $124.2 billion legislation that would have funded the war but which called for troops to start coming home this fall, and lawmakers are currently crafting a compromise bill.

According to the Army, the combat brigades would deploy for up to 15 months. The Army also said close to 1,000 additional support troops from the U.S. Army Reserves would also deploy in August. Those would come from two units, an engineer battalion from Fort Thomas, Ky., and a signal battalion from Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

The 10 brigades are: the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment in Germany; the 4th Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Stewart, Ga.; the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Brigades of the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky.; the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment from Fort Hood, Texas; the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored from Germany; 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division from Fort Polk, La.; 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division from Hawaii, and the 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.