The shifts will mean upheavals for many soldiers and their families in the coming years. But Army officials said today the effort will mean over the long term that families will move less often.

Gen. Richard Cody, the Army's vice chief of staff, said it was the biggest change in the Army since the beginning of World War II. Ray Dubois, a special assistant to the Army secretary, spoke of the "true cornerstone of Army transformation in the 21st century."

The army is rebuilding around 43 ground combat brigades, each with between 3,500 and 3,900 troops. The goal is to have the brigades operate far more independently than existing ones, which rely heavily on their larger division structures to function in a war zone.

Army bases in Hawaii, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Kansas and elsewhere will be among those gaining thousands of soldiers

Under the reorganization:

—Schofield Barracks will be gaining soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division by 2011.

—Fort Richardson, Alaska, is adding a brigade under the 25th Infantry Division, which is headquartered in Hawaii.

—Fort Bliss will be home to the 1st Armored Division, amounting to four brigades and a division headquarters. A division headquarters will have about 1,000 troops under the Army's new design. The unit is primarily based in Germany.

Some other Bliss troops, trained in anti-aircraft weaponry, are set to move to Fort Sill, Okla., under the base closing process now under way.

Including these moves, the base will have a net gain of about 18,300 soldiers between 2003 and 2011, according to calculations by the Army.

—At Fort Hood, Texas, the 4th Infantry Division will move two brigades, plus its headquarters, to Fort Carson, Colo.

The third brigade of the 4th Infantry Division will change shoulder patch and join the 1st Armored Cavalry as its new, fourth brigade. The 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment will move from Carson to Hood. The III Corps headquarters, about 1,000 troops, will stay at Hood.

Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Hood will have gained a net 700 soldiers between 2003 and 2011 under the military's current plans.

—Fort Lewis, Wash., now home to two brigades, will add a third, and all will become part of the 2nd Infantry Division. The fourth brigade of the division, plus its headquarters, will remain in Korea. The Army is negotiating to move I Corps headquarters, also at Lewis, to Japan. Lewis is expected to grow by 11,300 soldiers by 2011, the Army said.

—Fort Riley will be home to most of the 1st Infantry Division, three brigades and the headquarters. Much of that unit has been based in Germany. A brigade of the 1st Armored Division, now at Riley, will move to Fort Bliss. Riley will gain 9,400 soldiers, Boyce said.

—Fort Carson, Colo., will be home to the entire 4th Infantry Division, four brigades plus a headquarters. Many of these units are coming from Fort Hood. One brigade, formerly part of the 2nd Infantry Division based in Korea, will come from Iraq. Carson will grow by 8,200 soldiers.

—Fort Drum, N.Y., is adding a new brigade to the 10th Mountain Division. Drum will have grown by 6,300 soldiers by 2011, Boyce said.

—Fort Knox, Ky., will add a fourth, new brigade from the 1st Infantry.

—Fort Bragg, N.C., will add a fourth, new brigade to the 82nd Airborne Division, already stationed there.

—Fort Polk, La., will lose the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment to Germany, where it will become the sole ground combat brigade stationed there. A fourth brigade of the 10th Mountain Division is standing up in its place.