Fort Benning troops headed to Kuwait

FORT BENNING - An advance team of 200 soldiers left Fort Benning for Kuwait on Wednesday ahead of a deployment of 1,800 others from the Army&#39;s 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. <br> <br> Although the mission comes as Bush administration officials try to rally multi-national support for possible military action against Iraq, an Army spokesman said the troop movement is part of ``a continued presence of U.S. forces in that region since the end of the Gulf War.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The spokesman, Maj. Michael Birmingham of 3rd Infantry Division headquarters at Fort Stewart, said it brings ``an armored punch capability should the need arise.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Birmingham said an unspecified number of soldiers from the division&#39;s Fort Stewart-based 2nd Brigade have been ordered to maneuvers at the National Training Center in California&#39;s Mojave Desert. They will join 3,600 soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., deployed there last week for a one-month training exercise. <br> <br> The 3rd Brigade is part of a heavy mechanized division that employs M1A1 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Paladin howitzers and Apache attack helicopters.