Thousands of U.S. troops, including an Army infantry battalion, will deploy to Afghanistan to help the State Department as it reduces the number of civilian personnel at the U.S. embassy and works to more quickly process visa applications for Afghans who previously served alongside American troops.

The military also is sending an infantry brigade combat team from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait, where it will be “postured and prepared” if needed to provide additional security at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Aug. 12.

The announcement comes as the security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. The Taliban has moved quickly to capture large swaths of the country, including five provincial capitals in the past two days, the Associated Press reported. The Taliban is estimated to have control of about two-thirds of the country, according to the AP.

In all, the military is sending three infantry battalions—about 3,000 troops— to Afghanistan. The battalions, one Army and two Marine, are already in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, and they are expected to arrive in Kabul within “24 to 48 hours,” Kirby said.

They will help the State Department as it reduces the number of civilian personnel from the embassy in Afghanistan. The troops also will help Afghans who worked as interpreters, drivers and in other capacities for the U.S. military and are in the process of applying for a Special Immigrant Visa to move to the U.S.

The additional 3,000 troops will join the 650 troops already in the Afghan capital of Kabul to “help facilitate this safe and orderly reduction,” Kirby said.

“We believe it is the prudent thing to do given the rapidly deteriorating situation around Kabul,” Kirby said. “Cognizant of that security situation, this administration believed this was the prudent action to take.”

The military also is sending a task force of about 1,000 troops from the Army and Air Force—medical personnel, military police and others—to help the State Department process SIV applicants. Those troops will first deploy to Qatar, and they’re expected to arrive in the “coming days,” Kirby said.

The brigade from the 82nd Airborne Division is expected to arrive in Kuwait in the next week, he said.

Kirby emphasized that the additional troops deploying to Afghanistan and the region will have a temporary and narrowly focused mission. “Nobody is abandoning Afghanistan,” he said. “It’s doing the right thing at the right time to protect our people.”