The Pentagon is looking at ways to get more troops to Afghanistan quickly, with the goal of sending in 11,000 more Americans in 2009.

Defense officials believe units slated to go to an increasingly quieter Iraq could be shifted to a re-heated Afghanistan.

Could the 3rd brigade at Schofield Barracks and its more than 3,500 soldiers get the call?

The brigade is training up for a deployment to either the Baghdad area or northern Iraq starting in about October.

Maj. Derrick Cheng, a 25th Infantry Division spokesman, said, "We have not received any information regarding 3rd brigade and a mission change from Iraq to Afghanistan."

As things stand now, about 4,500 Schofield soldiers are preparing for a fall trip to Iraq.

The total includes the 25th Division headquarters and the 3rd brigade.

About 2,500 other Hawai'i soldiers with the combat aviation brigade are expected to get deployment orders early in 2009.

The 3rd brigade made the Tropic Lightning division's last big deployment to Afghanistan in 2004.

It has since been to northern Iraq, returning last October from 15 months in the country.

These days, with so many repeat deployments, it's pretty much deja vu no matter which country the soldiers end up in later this year.

The 3rd brigade will be head to the National Training Center in California at the end of July for a month of large-scale exercises.

Increasingly, attention is being returned to Afghanistan, which for years was thought of as a "forgotten war," but now is front and center amid a spike in violence.

Unfortunately, the wake-up call has come tragically, with the death of soldiers like 1st Lt. Jonathan Brostrom, 24, of 'Aiea.

The Damien Memorial School and University of Hawai'i grad was killed, along with eight other soldiers, on July 13.

The Pentagon said they died of wounds received when their outpost was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from several hundred enemy forces in Wanat, Afghanistan.

The soldiers were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment (Airborne) out of Vicenza, Italy.

There are about 35,000 U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said it wants to increase that total by two combat brigades and 4,000 trainers in 2009.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, last week said: "One need look no further than the well-coordinated attack on the Wanat outpost ... to see that the enemy in Afghanistan has grown bolder, more sophisticated and more diverse.

"My thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones of those killed in the attack. And my best wishes go to those Americans and Afghans who were wounded."

Mullen added that he talked "with all our leaders there, and they all indicated that ... they need more troops."

Asked if there was a "failure of intelligence" to detect the large number of enemy fighters in the area, Mullen said, "It was a very well planned, a very sophisticated attack.

"So we clearly, as (is) always the case, we look at lessons that we learn in something like this," Mullen said.

He added that the fight was "several hundred to less than a hundred," but Mullen said the outpost wasn't undermanned.

IN BRIEFS

PEARL HARBOR SAILORS TRYING OUT THROWBACK DRESS KHAKI UNIFORM

Sailors at Pearl Harbor are among those testing a retro "service dress khaki" uniform for chiefs and officers.

"The service dress khaki uniform is in a traditional style, last worn during the Vietnam era," said Robert Carroll, head of the uniform matters office.

The prototype service dress khaki uniform is a throwback to the traditional World War II style.

The uniform allows for chiefs and officers to shift from service khaki to service dress khaki by adding a black tie and jacket.

KANE'OHE MARINES DEPLOY TO IRAQ

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363, the "Lucky Red Lions," deployed recently from Kane'ohe Bay to Al Asad Airbase in western Iraq on what is scheduled to be a seven-month tour of duty.

The squadron, which flies CH-53D "Sea Stallion" helicopters, returned from Iraq in April of 2007.

The squadron won the 2007 Commandant's Aviation Trophy by maintaining an 87.3 percent readiness rate over 4,026 flight hours while deployed.

AGENCIES TO PRACTICE FLU RESPONSE

Joint Task Force-Homeland Defense is conducting an interagency exercise this week testing the response to simulated pandemic flu.

The exercise, a joint effort of more than 40 organizations, units and interagency partners, will begin tomorrow at Honolulu International Airport with the arrival of a commercial passenger aircraft from a foreign nation carrying passengers who have potentially been exposed to avian flu.

Lightning Rescue 08 will continue through Friday at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, where an isolation and quarantine facility will be tested.

"Taking opportunities to exercise with our interagency partners is critical in understanding where and how the military fits in the process of disaster response," said Lt. Col. Stanley E. Toy, chief of Joint Task Force-Homeland Defense.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.