The Pentagon has issued a notice to commanders known as a 'warning order.'
According to CNN, officials say it's to begin planning to draw down the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 troops and 2,500 in Iraq by Jan 15.
US military commanders expect President Donald Trump to issue a formal order to begin further troop withdrawal before Trump leaves office on January 20th.
The Pentagon appears ready to remove thousands more US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, it also indicates Trump may fall short of fulfilling one of his core promises to withdraw all US troops from Afghanistan before he leaves office.
Multiple top military officials, including former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said conditions were not yet right for complete troop withdrawal.