Pentagon to 35,000: Prepare to deploy
Pastor Dale Morgan
Pentagon to 35,000: Prepare to deploy*
WASHINGTON (AP) — 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 Tuesday the deployment orders,
which have been signed by Defense Secretary Robert 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,
Whitman said, would give commanders in Iraq the flexibility they need to
complete the mission there.
The announcement, said 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. Gates and his military leaders have said that 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. 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 that 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, Az.
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, Tx.