The Department of Defense has issued orders to the following units notifying them when they will be sent to Iraq for their next now-15-month tours.

The Department of the Army confirmed today, May 8, the Department of Defense announcement that 10 Army brigade combat teams will begin deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in August 2007 as part of the next routine rotation of forces.

• [T]he 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, will be the first brigade combat team to deploy in this rotation. Also the Army’s newest Stryker Brigade, the “Dragoons” completed their transformation in June 2006 and will deploy from Vilseck, Germany in August 2007 [Admin Note: These guys are famous in Germany for beating the shit out of Germans.]
• The 4th Brigade Combat Team deployed for the first time to Iraq in January 2005 and will deploy again in September 2007 from Fort Stewart, Ga.
• The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) will deploy three of these brigade combat teams before the end of the year.
• The “Bastogne Bulldogs” of the 1st Brigade Combat Team will deploy in September 2007. In October, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s “Rakkasans” will deploy followed by the 2nd “Strike” Brigade. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team has the honor of conducting the two longest air assault missions in the division’s history supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom during the invasion in 2003.
• In November, the Army will deploy three brigade combat teams. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s “Brave Rifles,” from Fort Hood, Texas will deploy at beginning of the month. The “Brave Rifles” relocated to Fort Hood from Fort Carson, Col., in July 2006 after their second tour in Iraq as part of OIF III. Following their last deployment, the mayor of Tal Afar, Iraq wrote to Gen. George Casey thanking the “Brave Rifles” for liberating his town and restoring hope to the populace.
• At the end of November, the 1st Armored Division will send its 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Deploying from Baumholder, Germany, the “Iron Soldiers” made history during OIF 05-07 becoming the first heavy brigade combat team serving as the CENTCOM theater reserve deployed to Kuwait prepared to respond anywhere in the CENTCOM area of responsibility. With almost no notice, the 2nd Brigade launched elements into Iraq from Kuwait, answering an immediate call to reinforce operations.
• After the “Iron Brigade,” the 10th Mountain Division will send their 4th Brigade Combat Team, “Forged for War” from Fort Polk, La. This brigade combat team effectively formed on Jan. 16, 2005, and was prepared to deploy in just six months. The Fort Polk brigade is a Light Infantry-based combat team.
• In the final month of 2007, the 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii deploys the “Warriors” from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. The culmination of their last deployment in 2005, saw the “Warrior’s” efforts lead to successful execution of the first free elections in Iraq held in over 50 years.
• Deploying at the end of December 2007 is the “Raider Brigade,” the 1st Brigade Combat Team from the 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. They are an integral part of the Army’s most technologically advanced combat division, as the “Ivy Division” is the first digitized division in the U.S. Army.
• In support of these brigade combat teams, the U.S. Army Reserves will deploy 504 Soldiers from the 478th Combat Engineer Battalion, based in Fort Thomas, Ky. Also, the 40th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz. will deploy 430 Soldiers. Both battalions deploy in August 2007.

And here’s who’s going to Afghanistan:

• 101^st Airborne Division Headquarters, Ft. Campbell, Ky.
• 4^th Brigade Combat Team, 101^st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Ky.