Fort Riley’s 3rd brigade, 1st Armored Division has been asked to prepare for war a year earlier than expected.

The group is currently assisting with transition team training, but will start preparing for war in April. Major General Carter Ham says it's because some Army soldiers aren't getting at least a year off in between deployments, so the Army is adding more fighting units to try and stop that.

A press conference at Fort Riley Wednesday reveals that Fort Riley’s “Bulldog” brigade will start preparing to become a Heavy Brigade Combat Team in April, almost a year earlier than expected.

"We had some idea this was going to occur and we've already began process to make changes. It is a shift, but I think, with the timeline we have available, it's well within reason," says Col. Norb Jocz, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division Commander.

Right now the 3rd brigade, 1st Armored Division is helping train Transition Team soldiers to transfer power to Security Forces in Iraq. Now, the group will teach some 1st Brigade soldiers to take their place as they prepare for war.

"We've got to get the tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and all that equipment back to Fort Riley to equip this unit and get the soldiers in place to train them, beginning at the individual level through collective training, so they are available to deploy if needed," says Maj. Gen. Ham.

He says the change also means changes for the community as about 1,400 families start moving to Fort Riley and Junction City this spring, a year before they were expected.

"There will be an increased demand for family housing, there will be increased requirements for school districts and other requirements that we'll work very closely with the city managers and local government to make sure all the right programs are ready to take care of those soldiers and their families when they do arrive," says Ham.

The “Bulldog” brigade doesn't have an order to deploy yet, but has been told to be ready to deploy by the summer of 2008.

The 3rd brigade, 1st Armored Division will stand up about 3,400 soldiers in its new mission. Fort Riley says this doesn't change the population projections for the area, just the pace of the population growth.