Posted on 01/11/2006 12:13:44 PM PST by Cannoneer No. 4
January 11, 2006: The U.S. Army’s new Stryker wheeled armored vehicle has been in Iraq for over two years now. The first Stryker brigade left its 299 Stryker vehicles in Iraq, when the troops finished their one year tour. Now, after two years, those vehicles are being brought home and refurbished. Seven percent of the vehicles got banged up pretty bad, mostly by roadside bombs. These had to be rebuilt.
Those 299 Strkyers averaged about 24,000 kilometers a year. Some put in close to 110,000 kilometers. Military wheeled vehicles operating in that part of the world are in need of refurbishment after about 50,000 kilometers. The refurbishment for the Strykers involves a new set of tires, new drive train and transmission. Any other equipment that got banged up or worn out will be repaired or replaced. Vehicles are repainted as needed. The electronics in each vehicle will be upgraded. The Strykers are the first of a new generation of “digital” vehicles. That means networking, computers and the ability to exchange digital data with other vehicles and troops equipped with wireless networking gear. In effect, a battlefield Internet. This stuff survived remarkably well in Iraq, despite the heat, dust, vibration and heavy use by the troops. The entire refurbishment process takes about twenty days per vehicle.
This was the first combat experience for the Strykers, and they performed quite well. Like most new military vehicles, they received a lot of criticism for being too expensive, too fragile, too heavy, too big and unsuited to the task. But the troops who used the Strykers liked them, and the vehicles proved to be more effective than any alternatives (more heavily armored M-2 Bradley’s, or armored hummers.)
Jungle Law [AMAZING report from Iraq]
Stryker Crews Find New Vehicles Can Take A Punch
Maybe, but that "tornado fence" they had to put on the thing still looks silly, even if it did work.
ping
Thanks for the ping!
Wonder what they mean by 'rebuilt'?
"Rebuilt" can mean a bunch of different things depending upon who is asked.
(My old motors section would say 'rebuilt' means taken down to the frame and put back together.)
Stryker ~ Bump!
The wrecked ones are to be rebuilt. I take that to mean depot-level return to original condition for reissue rebuild. Anniston Army Depot could take a POS dogged out high mileage M60A1 and give you back one that was better than new.
Okers.
Sounds like a 'complete teardown and eval' reuild then.
But the troops who used the Strykers liked them…
Has anybody read this book?
No, is it any good?
I spoke with a returning Stryker Brigade hero last month. He told me of a time when they were rolling thru a city street with buildings on each side. There was an explosion, and the buildings on both sides of them were levelled....and they kept rolling right along. IMHO - they are only too expensive if they don't work.
I read it over Christmas vacation...very cool and enlightening. The Strykers get a thumbs up from what I remember.
I'm ready for a new tv show on either MTV or the Pentagon Channel:
Pimp my Stryker.
Trick them out, spinning wheels, fancy paint, DVD players etc.
Bumpkin'
This is directly from the General Dynamics press room. The only reason they are doing the refit instead of our Army depots is that they will not sell us the part. They are getting rich again along with the train of generals they bought - you remember Heebner, Keane and the top general Shinseki.
They hardly mention the Strykers that were not worth shipping home. There are 48 of those wrecks on Qatar in the loving arms of General Dynamics. In order to keep the Army's boast alive that they never lost a Stryker, the 48 on Qatar will be rebuilt even if these is only one screw left.
Damn you people are gullible. Talk to some soldiers that are now OUT of the Stryker Brigades. They tell an entirely different tale than the one General Dynamics ginned up.
Answered in full on a back channel. I will open the correspondence to anyone if Cannoneer does not get the message and react...
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