Two Fort Stewart battalions will deploy to Afghanistan in February and April, according to the 3rd Infantry Division public affairs office.

The 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment and 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment -- both part of 3rd ID's 2nd Brigade Combat Team -- will deploy in 2012, according to a press release. About 1,500 troops will deploy, rather than the 1,600 estimated in an earlier 3rd ID press release.

The 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, scheduled to deploy in February, consists of about 800 soliders. Their mission in Afghanistan will be "to provide security to units conducting contingency operations in Afghanistan, as well as support for stability operations," according to the release.

The 700 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment will deploy in April to support a Stryker brigade already in Afghanistan. The Fort Stewart battalion will help the Stryker Brigade perform counterinsurgency operations and train Afghan National Security Forces, the release stated.

This will be the units' first deployment to Afghanistan, although both units have previously deployed to Iraq.

Each deployment is expected to last about nine months, the release stated. The nine-month timeframe is in line with the Army's new policy of shorter deployments, which took effect Jan. 1.