Two battalions totaling 1,500 82nd Airborne Division troops will begin flying to Iraq from Fort Bragg, N.C., on Friday, triggering a major build-up of U.S. forces to bolster security for January national elections in the country, defense officials said. Officials at Fort Bragg said first elements of the two battalions, each with about 750 troops, would move throughout the day and that the transit would be completed early next week. "Some elements are moving today," Sgt. 1st Class Chris Fletcher, a spokesman for the elite airborne division, told Reuters. The Pentagon announced this week that a force of 138,000 U.S. troops currently in Iraq would be increased by the end of December to 150,000, the highest level since the war began in March 2003, in order to improve security for scheduled Jan 30. Iraqi elections. The increased total will continue until at least March and will include extensions of promised year-long Iraq tours of 8,100 Army soldiers to 14 months and the seven-month tours of 2,300 Marines to nine months. --SP 1949 Local Time 1649 GMT
