Semper Fi
Carry on.
Schoomaker said he wished that the Army's new Stryker Brigade had been ready for the Iraq war. He would love to have seen it flown in to join the 173rd Airborne Brigade when it jumped into northern Iraq. ''Stryker comes with more infantry in it than any other formation - 1,160 per brigade. the Stryker's speed and agility gives us the best operating radius and abilities we have ever had.''
The Army is sending one brigade of Strykers to Iraq this month, and intends to organize five more, including one for the Army National Guard. ''By the time we get to five or six,'' Schoomaker said, ''we may want to go for even more.''
He said that if the Stryker is used properly, he wasn't worried that the lightly armored, wheeled vehicle would be too vulnerable to hostile fire. ''It doesn't matter what you wrap yourself in; someone is always going to build a bigger bullet,'' he said.
The approximately 300 eight-wheeled armored vehicles that make up a Stryker Brigade Combat Team wouldn't start arriving until early 2006
If the brigade is approved, the military would need an additional 23,000 acres on the Big Island, 1,400 acres on O'ahu, and land for 49 miles of private trails to keep the 20-ton Strykers off public roads as much as possible during training.
The vehicles would be based at Schofield and travel by private trail to Dillingham Airfield and Kahuku Training Area for training. Strykers also would be transported by C-17 cargo jets, and use Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island.
The survey by the military newspaper Stars and Stripes says one-third of U.S. troops surveyed in Iraq say their morale is low. And half say they're not likely to stay in the armed forces.
Fiasco......FUBAR, BOHICA !!!...Stay Safe Ya'll !......:o)