One brigade on hold

CNN is reporting on this now. The Defense Department announced it mid-day. DoD:

The Department of Defense announced today that the 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany, will not begin its deployment to Iraq in early May as scheduled.

Additional information about this unit, to include its revised deployment date in the rotation plan, will be announced as decisions are made.

The adjustment to the unit’s deployment was made as commanders assess the security situation on the ground in Iraq. Decisions about troop levels are conditions-based. In consultation with the Iraqi Government, commanders continue to assess the situation to ensure sufficient force levels to best support the Iraqi government.

This decision affects approximately 3,500 U.S. active duty soldiers and their families, but in the near-term will not affect the current number of U.S. troops in Iraq, which is numbering approximately 133,000.