WASHINGTON – More than 6,000 Army and Army National Guard troops in Texas have been tapped for duty in the Middle East, with about 3,500 readying for deployment this fall.

The soldiers of Fort Hood-based 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, are among about 25,000 active-duty Army troops the Pentagon announced will replace units in Iraq that are scheduled to return by the end of the year.

The deployment – which will maintain a level of 15 brigades in Iraq, or roughly 140,000 troops – will mark the third time the 3rd Brigade has been sent to the Middle East, following tours in Baghdad in 2004 and Diyala province in 2006.

Maj. Raul Marquez, the public affairs officer, said a large proportion of the brigade's 3,500 troops had previous combat deployments, though not all with the brigade.

"It's something we knew was going to happen," Maj. Marquez said. "This is a highly trained, highly mobile unit."

Brigade commander Col. Gary Volesky, who took over the unit in March, commanded another of the division's battalions in Baghdad's Sadr City in 2004.

"This is somebody that knows the Cav and knows how to fight in Iraq," Maj. Marquez said.

The Texas National Guard's 72nd Brigade Combat Team is one of four Army National Guard units tasked to follow the regular Army deployments.