-- On Wednesday, President George W. Bush addressed the nation on a troop surge for the war in Iraq. One line directly affected El Pasoans.

"We will expand intelligence sharing and deploy Patriot air defense systems to reassure our friends and allies," said Bush.

With that one line from the president's speech, troops from Fort Bliss were tapped to be deployed.

"The announcement yesterday was a surprise to me, but evidently the Patriot force has been well prepared. They have been prepping for a long time; they are always trained and ready," said Jean Offutt from Fort Bliss.

Offutt is talking about the 3-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion, being sent to southwest Asia as part of the new plan for Iraq.

"My understanding is this will probably be a full battalion, which would be between five and six hundred."

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes was also surprised by the deployment, but he said this is not part of the president's plan.

"That's a unit that was already scheduled to go; that was already in the queue," said Reyes.

So, whether it was a scheduled assignment or whether they are a part of the president's troop surge, the Patriot unit is being deployed in the next four to six weeks. El Pasoans remain with mixed reactions to the new game plan.

"My brother is in the Army, and just for him to go -- I mean, I don't want him to go. Then again, it's good for those who serve our country," said Emma Cardoza from Northeast El Paso.

"The Kurds, the Shiites, and the Sunnis -- I think it's among them. They have to come to terms, how to live for the rest of their lives. More troops won't do anything," said Eddie Wei from West El Paso.

"I'd like to get all the troops out of Iraq, so sending 20,000 more is definitely not my idea of a good thing to do," said Joan Korn, also from West El Paso.

There is no word as to how long the battalion would be deployed. The 3-43 Patriot unit was previously deployed from August 2002 to May 2003, and it will be with the USS Stennis Carrier Strike Group. With the 500 to 600 hundred additional troops, that puts Fort Bliss at little less than 5,000 troops in the region.