The 101st Airborne got deployment orders today. When these guys go in, you know that war is starting very, very soon. (They weren't deployed to Afghanistan until about a month into the air war.)

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — The Army's 101st Airborne Division received orders today to deploy overseas for an unspecified mission.

The division — along with its 270 helicopters — will ''support possible future operations in the global war on terrorism,'' according to a statement released by the public affairs office at Fort Campbell, where the division is based.

The division will deploy to the U.S. Central Command area of operations, the statement said.

The exact location and number of soldiers deploying was not disclosed. The 101st has about 20,000 soldiers.

''The president of the United States has made no decision about any future military operations,'' said Maj. Carl Purvis, reading from a prepared statement. ''These deployments are prudent steps to increase military capabilities and enhance flexibility.''

The 101st is a famed division that parachuted at Normandy, fought on ''Hamburger Hill'' in Vietnam, and hunted suspected Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the mountains of Afghanistan.

It is the Army's only air assault division, trained to rapidly deploy anywhere in the world within 36 hours.