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US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (L) and Uzbek President Islam Karimov during their meeting in Tashkent today
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The Uzbekistan president has granted permission for US forces to use an air base in his country.
The move comes after the US confirmed reports that more than 1,000 troops have been sent to the Afghan border in Uzbekistan.
President Islam Karimov says the air base could be used by US transport planes, helicopters and troops for search-and-rescue missions.
The deployment of 1,000-plus soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division is the first time a regular army infantry unit has been sent on a mission to a former Soviet state, a US defence official said.
It also is the first major deployment of a regular Army unit - as opposed to elite Special Forces units - in the campaign against terrorism.
The White House admitted last week that British and American special forces are already operating inside Afghanistan. The unit being sent from the 10th Mountain Division, based in New York state, is a reinforced battalion of light infantry.
The new troops are expected to perform two basic missions in the Central Asian republics.
Primarily, they will provide ground security for air force fighter and combat search-and-rescue units.
In addition, they will form a Quick Reaction Force that will be on alert to go to the aid of any special forces units that get in trouble while conducting raids in Afghanistan.
The Pentagon plans to tell the Army that the mission will be open-ended, and that the 10th Mountain should expect to send another battalion in six months when the troops being deployed now are brought home.