U.S. deploys more troops
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Paratroopers secure a northern Iraq airfield for coalition use.
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SPECIAL REPORT
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The first wave of what will be a force of about 30,000 troops from the Army's 4th Infantry Division and other unidentified units will leave Fort Hood, Texas, for Iraq in the next few days.
Another 100,000 ground troops will be deployed to the region next month, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
Officials told CNN the new deployments represent a continuation of the Pentagon's plan and not a change in strategy.
The 4th Infantry soldiers and other forces in the task force have already received deployment orders and the first group was expected to ship out by the weekend.
Other cavalry and armored divisions will ship out next month, officials said.
The new troops will also include more heavy mechanized divisions, the officials said.
-- From CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr
