The 82nd Airborne Division will be giving up one of its battalions to the Kosovo peacekeeping force for at least the next year, causing problems within the division. As the 82nd is required to keep one battalion ready for immediate deployment (37 hours notice) at all times, having only eight battalions in the division will mean that each battalion comes on duty slightly more often. And since the battalion in Kosovo must also be fully functional, that means the division must effectively have twice as many troops on full readiness as before. The 2nd Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry is currently in Kosovo, having gone to Macedonia in April. It will return home in October and be replaced by the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry. The US brigade in Kosovo includes one parachute battalion, one mechanized battalion, and one tank battalion (plus an artillery battalion and other units such as engineers and a support battalion).--Stephen V Cole