[82Rigger]

Two battalions of the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy in mid-September from their home base of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They will comprise the 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment (AIR) and the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR).

This is the third time the U.S. has raised troop levels during major political milestones in Iraq. Similar increases were made during the June 2004 transfer to Iraqi sovereignty and again during January's elections.

This deployment and last week's announcement of another increase will raise the troop level to at least 140,000.