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| Heads Up: 21,000 Troops Notified for Iraq Deployment in late 2006 |
| 2006-06-20 |
| The Pentagon has notified about 21,000 Army soldiers and Marines that they are scheduled to be sent to Iraq late this year as part of the latest deployment rotation. Four major combat brigades from Texas, Alaska and Colorado are scheduled to replace troops returning home from the war, the Pentagon said. Thus, the announcement does not signal an increase in troop strength in Iraq. Combined with last November's announcement of 92,000 American service members scheduled to go to Iraq in the 2006-2008 rotation, this would bring the total U.S. troop level to about 113,000 for that period. That is less than the approximately 138,000 average troop level for the past year, but more than military officials'goal of less than 100,000 by the end of the year. There are about 127,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Not all of the units in the first 92,000 have gone to Iraq yet. A Germany-based Army brigade's travel to Iraq was put on hold just last month - triggering talk that a U.S. troop cut might be in the offing. They are now scheduled to go this summer. And a Fort Lewis, Washington, brigade began shipping equipment to Iraq this month and the soldiers are expect to follow soon. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 Being in the batter's box doesn't mean you get to swing at the ball. If even a goodly percentage of these guys get shipped, it won't be to fight in Iraq. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-06-20 22:47 |