U.S. to rotate 92,000 troops

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced a plan Monday that will send 92,000 fresh troops to Iraq beginning in mid-2006 — including a Fort Lewis Stryker brigade — but officials warned that overall troop strength would depend on how Iraq's security situation evolves.

The troop-rotation plan includes soldiers from eight active-duty Army brigades, an active support command and one National Guard brigade. The rotations are for one year.

The plan reduces the number of National Guardsmen in Iraq. This year, National Guardsmen constituted about 40 percent of U.S. ground forces, and some critics have complained that the military was relying too much on part-time troops who they argue should be used at home for disaster relief and homeland defense.

The planned deployment includes the more than 3,500 soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. This would be the brigade's second deployment in Iraq. The Strykers, named after the eight-wheel troop carrier they use, returned in October after a year in Iraq, mostly in Mosul.

Troop strength in Iraq has remained at about 138,000 for much of the past year, but it was increased before the October constitutional referendum to about 160,000 in anticipation of more insurgent attacks. U.S. troops in Iraq now number around 150,000, and they're expected to remain at that level through the December elections for a new government before dropping back to 138,000, according to military officials.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said long-term troop levels would depend on conditions in Iraq, particularly on how soon Iraqi security forces can take over.

Other units included in Monday's announcement were from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Hood, Texas; Minnesota Army National Guard; the U.S. base at Schweinfurt, Germany; Fort Bragg, N.C.; and Fort Drum, N.Y.

About 53,000 of the Army troops in the 2006 rotation are active duty and more than 25,000 are National Guardsmen, said Maj. Todd Vician, a Pentagon spokesman. Not included in Monday's announcement were more than 5,000 Marines, 3,700 sailors and more than 3,300 airmen set to deploy next year.

Additional announcements by each service for the deployment of smaller units are expected, said Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman.

Venable said that the base line for U.S. troop strength in Iraq would remain at 138,000 for next year, but that number could fluctuate, depending on the security situation.

A Seattle Times reporter

contributed to this report.