Elements of the 4th Infantry Division plus other units were expected to comprise the "Ironhorse" task force that will eventually reach 30,000 men to be thrown into the effort to unseat President Saddam Hussein.

But an officer indicated it may still be some time before the elite troops move into action.

"We could be on the battlefield in a matter of weeks," said Brigadier General Stephen Speakes, assistant division commander for support.

The heavy division was supposed to have formed a northern front but the plan was discarded when Turkey failed to grant permission for the use of its territory as a springboard.

Many of the soldiers are being flown in from their base at Fort Hood, Texas while vessels carrying heavy equipment have been redeployed from the Mediterranean and transited through the Suez Canal headed for the Gulf.

Amid criticism from a growing number of former military leaders who say a larger force is needed in Iraq, the Pentagon announced Thursday that a total of 120,000 additional troops were ready to head to the Gulf.

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