It's dust, desert, Miss America for Stryker brigade

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER ^ | Thursday, November 20, 2003 | Mike Barber

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The Army's groundbreaking, 4,000-member Stryker light-infantry brigade has touched down in the Middle East at Camp Udairi, Kuwait.

And the new unit, which left Fort Lewis after a send-off that featured the "Lawrence of Arabia" movie theme, already is getting a morale boost from home for the holiday season.

"The overall plan for Thanksgiving is still being worked on, but we do know that Miss America 2004 will be here to visit with and entertain the soldiers," Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, spokesman for the Stryker brigade, said by e-mail yesterday.

"There have been all kinds of volunteers to work escort duty, as you can imagine," he said.

The brigade, developed at Fort Lewis as the first Army "transformation" unit created for 21st-century warfare, is now fully deployed for the first time in a combat zone. Piek said the last of its troops arrived Monday on contracted commercial aircraft out of McChord Air Force Base.

The troops now are marrying up with the brigade's 2,500 vehicles, including the new Stryker infantry carriers. The vehicles, shipped out a month and a half ago from the Port of Tacoma, were unloaded from the military sealift ships Sisler and Shughart in two days instead of the anticipated four, with soldiers and port crews working around the clock, Piek said.

Teams of contractors and soldiers now have begun to install armor on the Strykers.

"This process is going well and will last several weeks," Piek said. Some armor plates were found to be defective in tests at Aberdeen, Md., over the summer, drawing criticism from defense observers and Congress.

Piek said the brigade pretty much occupies the entire compound at Camp Udairi. "We're living in large tents with cots, and the tents have heater/air conditioner units. Since we've been here, we've used both the AC and the heat; evening temps have dipped to the high 30s on a few nights," Piek said. Troops already have broken out their cold-weather garments as the Mideast winter sets in.

The desert terrain is pretty much what was expected, he said, resembling some training areas in the United States where the Stryker brigade practiced, but with sand as far as the eye can see and nothing to stop the wind.

Troops wear wrap-around sunglasses most of the time to keep sand out of their eyes. And with the desert dryness, they've found lip balm is a precious commodity.

P-I reporter Mike Barber can be reached at 206-448-8018 or mikebarber@seattlepi.com

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Stryker Brigade Combat Team Tactical Studies Group (Chairborne)

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Cannoneer No. 4]

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Stryker brigade to face first test

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Troops install cagelike armor to fend off attacks

[Lil'freeper]

We do know that Miss America 2004 will be here to visit with and entertain the soldiers," said Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, spokesman for the Stryker brigade

Is she going to pose on the hood or something?

[Alas Babylon!]

bfl.... (bump for later)

[thiscouldbemoreconfusing]

Grrrreat report, thanks and best to all,

[sauropod]

What was the source for the article?

[thiscouldbemoreconfusing]

Your baby?

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, spokesman for the Stryker brigade, said by e-mail yesterday

[Redleg Duke]

I have made negative comments about the Stryker vehicle, but now our force is on the ground and in contact and I am praying for the success of the concept and the vehicle and for the lives of the troops.

I will not revel, as some sound like they are preparing to do, if the vehicle or force fails. There is to second place trophy in war.

[SLB]

Your baby?

No. I only provided support during testing.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Great pics from Army Times

[Squantos]

Teams of contractors and soldiers now have begun to install armor on the Strykers

Thus the idea of rollin into combat off the ramp of a "C1 anything" was just a pipe dream..........

Stay Safe

[theFIRMbss]

>It's dust, desert, Miss America for Stryker brigade

Only Stryker threads would have more armour pics than Miss America!

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Yeah, but that was the whole reason they went with a Remote Weapon Station instead of a turret. They could have had Bradley firepower, but because they considered C-130 air transportability so vitally important they went with Humvee firepower. That RWS better work.

This was originally sold to us as firepower and mobility for the Airborne so they wouldn't have to be speed bumps anymore. Paratroopers were going to secure airfields for C-130's to land on and drop the ramp and Strykers were going to roll off ready to fight.

The farther away they get from the LAV III and Piranha III the worse they screw it up.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Ask archy for a blonde Russian cutie pic.