President Obama, on Friday, is expected to order American Special Forces troops be deployed in northern Syria. They will be deployed as advisors in Kurdish held territory in the north of the country. The special forces units will be there in an advisory capacity to help out the American led coalition battle the Islamic State.

Despite the military wanting to supplement what they have for ground forces there, it seems like a complete turn around for Obama. The president has repeatedly said that he would not deploy American troops directly into the ground fighting in the Syrian civil war, reports The New York Times. It is hoped that the special forces troops will be able to speed up the logistics of getting equipment where it is needed as well as helping out on battle strategy.

The administration has roundly said that the special forces units will be there strictly to advise and will not be in combat roles. The administration sources said that only around fifty or so special forces soldiers will be sent to into the conflict in Syria.

In addition, President Obama has ordered, or authorized, that A-10 Warthogs and F-15 warplanes be shuttled to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. He has, also, ordered that more military support be sent to Lebanon and into Jordan. The president also wants American commanders in Iraq to see how they can establish bases there from which American troops and equipment can be deployed into Syria. He wants commanders to, also, begin targeting and eliminating Islamic State operatives in Iraq.

Despite all of this military movement, the president still supports a diplomatic and political solution to the four and a half year old Syrian civil war. He supports Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts at peace talks that are currently happening in Vienna, Austria.

The American intervention, the administration declares, is to support their partners in the war effort and to coordinate intelligence and equipment where they can.