The Pentagon last month placed the unit on standby as it added about 21-thousand Army soldiers and Marines to its 2006-2008 rotation schedule for Iraq. Though the brigade has not received deployment orders, Major General Rick Lynch, the Third Infantry commander, said his First Brigade Troops must be combat-ready by late November.

Working to meet the deadline under an accelerated training schedule, soldiers are running drills designed to mimic real combat scenarios as closely as possible. The drills include rolling into a mock village in search of a man suspected of making bombs for insurgents and scouting for roadside bombs ahead of convoys.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)