Back from war, Stryker vehicles get refit

The Seattle Times ^ | December 18, 2005 | Associated Press

[neverdem]

Associated Press

FORT LEWIS — After logging thousands of miles during their first two years in Iraq, the Army's Stryker vehicles are getting an overhaul before being sent back with soldiers.

The eight-wheeled, armored vehicles are being worked on by mechanics from General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., which made the Strykers and has a $69 million Army contract to restore them. Maintenance is taking place at this post south of Seattle and at a company yard in Auburn.

The Strykers arrived home by ship in late October. They were used for a year in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, then another year with their successors from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Average mileage across the fleet of roughly 285 vehicles is more than 20,000, officials said.

Maj. Robert Berg, who heads the Stryker acquisition and reset programs at Fort Lewis, said the vehicles have held up well.

General Motors Corp. and General Dynamics Corp., a defense contractor in Falls Church, Va., were awarded a $4 billion Army contract to produce 2,100 vehicles to serve six brigades — three of which are based at Fort Lewis.

The Strykers' addition to the Army in 2002 was criticized by some who said at $2 million each they were too expensive, too heavy and inferior to other vehicles.

However, they've been praised by senior generals and young privates alike for their speed, maneuverability, communications systems and the protection they provide from improvised explosive devices, a common weapon used by the insurgency in Iraq.

The most heavily damaged vehicles remain overseas, at General Dynamics' main repair facility in Qatar. About 50 company mechanics also traveled to Iraq with the Stryker brigades, performing routine maintenance and repairs.

[VaBthang4]

Dude, humble yourself to reality.

By all accounts [especially the Soldier's and our enemy's] the Stryker has been a magnificent success.

What, they do not have RPGs or IEDs in Mosul? Get real!

I heard a million and 1 contrarians railing against the Stryker from the vehicle's inception right up to their deployment to Iraq.

And now in the face of overwhelming data showing the Stryker deployment to have been [and continue to be] a success...here is another nonsensical M113 comment.

Let it go.

[Prost1]

"Dude, humble yourself to reality."

When the Stryker can go to places that are really unfriendly, then I might adjust to the new reality.
Until then, it has limited proven ability. It had to be reconfigured to deal with RPGs and tactics had to be adjusted to deal with the lighter firepower.

At a cost of $2mil+/ea., it appears to be a contractors dream rather than a military necessity.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the links. Merry Christmas!

[endthematrix]

Merry Christmas to you too!

[Benkei]

Little late, but . . .

Anyone read 'My War' by Colby Buzzell? He was a gunner in a Strker, and he lists what he likes and doesn't like about it in his book, and also he discusses getting hit with small arms and RPG's - some survived, some not (vehicles):
http://cbftw.blogspot.com/

He describes taking RPG hits and keeping his Stryker operational. The 'slat' armor appears to work to defeat standard RPG anti-armor warheads.

The problem today is the use of 'platter charges' more than 'shaped charges' in IED's. Obviously, sophisticated anti-armor missiles are an entirely different threat. The problem with IED's is that they are a teachable weapon to produce and can be command detonated with direct cable which is quite hard to jam. The Waffen SS supposedly used 'scraper' attachments on armored cars to pick up the wires to command-detonated mines in Vietnam when they fought with the FFL.

It seems that all the overhead surveillance capabilities we have would be most useful on routes that often encounter IED's. Ramming a Hellfire or some napalm into the getaway vehicle as they are leaving the area would take care of the personnel and serve as a warning to the rest - leave the bodies there, and invite the local media to film all they like.

[doctorfurby]

Fox news was talking to a Stryker commander who had his vehicle hit by an IED 16 times with out loosing any soldiers. And of 164 times a Stryker vehicle has been hit this year they have only lost two soldiers although I think they lost one today.