Defense Secretary Orders U.S. Troops and Patriot Missiles - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Defense Secretary and Monterey native Leon Panetta signs an order to send Patriot missiles and U.S. Troops to Turkey.

CBS is reporting about 400 troops are being sent to the country's southern border with Syria. Panetta confirmed the deployment to CBS Radio News. He said it is part of a NATO effort to keep Turkey from being struck by Syrian missiles. Panetta said previous intelligence indicated the Syrian regime was very serious about potentially using chemical weapons.

Senior officials said last week that they've been monitoring about a dozen bases where President Bashar Assad may have chemical weapons stored. "We had intelligence they (Syrian forces) were in fact beginning to assemble the weapons for the use of sarin gas," said Panetta. Officials said the regime started preparing sarin gas and other materials for use. "Once you start mixing the material for that, the next step then is ultimately to use those weapons," said Panetta. "The fact that they took that step is a clear indication that they were very serious about potentially using them."

Satellites have seen trucks moving between bunkers where the weapons are believed to be stored. Officials said evidence is strong but not definitive.

For more information go here.