By Jim Forsyth

SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - Three soldiers at the Fort Hood Army post in central Texas were arrested on Thursday on charges of smuggling immigrants into the United States while dressed in their military uniforms.

The three were identified by U.S. immigration officials as Eric Rodriguez, 20, Brandon Robbins, 20, and Christopher Wix, 21. Lawyers for the men were not immediately available for comment.

An indictment unsealed today in Brownsville on Thursday said Rodriguez was arrested on Sept. 11 at a Border Patrol checkpoint in the south Texas town of Sarita. He was dressed in his Army uniform and had two immigrants hidden under his military jacket and a bed sheet in the back of his pickup.

Robbins was charged with smuggling two immigrants into Texas in April, and Wix was charged with illegally transporting two immigrants into Texas in June, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Adelina Pruneda.

Both incidents were similar to the Rodriguez case, she said.

Pruneda says the three soldiers were arrested on Thursday at Fort Hood. They were charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor aliens and transporting aliens.

(Additional reporting by Amanda Orr in Houston; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Eric Walsh)