Free Republic

After months of planning and deliberations, the 75th Ranger Regiment has been deployed to Syria to participate in the war against ISIS as the coalition closes in on the so-called caliphate’s capital city of Raqqa. Yesterday, the first images emerged of Stryker armored vehicles on their way to Manbij. This comes weeks after Rangers deployed to theater with their Strykers and elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment had been passing through Kurdistan. By looking at the call sign tag on the back of the Stryker, it is evident that this is 3rd Ranger Battalion out of Fort Benning, Georgia,

<p>WASHINGTON -- A decade ago, the Army began producing an armored Humvee capable of providing protection from many roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.</p> <p>Like most soldiers in Iraq, Capt. Cameron Birge hasn't set foot in one of those vehicles. Instead, he leads convoys through one of the country's most violent regions in a Humvee -- the modern successor to the Jeep -- with a sheet-metal skin that can't even stop bullets from a small-caliber handgun. To shield himself, Capt. Birge removed his Humvee's canvas doors and welded on slabs of scrap metal. He spread Kevlar blankets over the seats and stacked sandbags on the floor.</p>

TIKRIT, IRAQ - A roadside bomb destroyed a Stryker vehicle with the Fort Lewis Stryker Brigade. A scout platoon on a reconnaissance mission south of Tikrit ran over what the military calls an improvised explosive device. The soldiers inside got out safely but the 19 ton vehicle caught fire and burned out of control. "There was a small explosion, and the engine caught fire. The soldiers inside got out and tried to put the fire out but it got out of control and started setting off the ammunition," said ABC news producer in Iraq, Mike Gudgell. One soldier in the...