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thedrifter
02-18-09, 09:40 AM
Fort Lewis 5th Stryker Brigade bound for Afghanistan

Fort Lewis sent the first of the nation's Stryker brigades into action in the war in Iraq in 2003.

Now the post's 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, will be the first to see action in AfghanIstan when it deploys in mid-summer, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.

The 4,000 member unit, the Army's newest Stryker brigade, is among 17,000 troops being deployed to Afghanistan by midsummer, Gates said Tuesday, acting on President Barack Obama's decision to do so.

They will join approximately 8,000 Marines of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., and 5,000 support troops who will receive deployment orders later this year.

The 5th Stryker brigade is known as "the strike and destroy brigade." The brigade's troops and equipment are currently at the U.S. Army National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif., slated to complete their "mission rehearsal exercise" by the end of February.

Stryker brigades are named for the fast, 8-wheeled, high-tech infantry carriers designed and tested at Fort Lewis for 21st Century warfare. The brigades were created to fill the need for light-but-lethal units and tactics as an alternative to the heavier combat units used during the Cold War.

Variations of the Stryker vehicles, known as LAVs for Light Armored Vehicle in various configurations, already have been used in Afghanistan by Canadian forces, and were adopted by several countries as well as U.S. Marines in the early 1980s.

With the focus shifting from iraq, where violence has fallen, to Afghanistan, where violence has increased on the strength of a resurgent Taliban, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, publicly had called for a Stryker brigade among more troops to help stem the tide.

Canadian troops reported good experiences with their LAVs, though questions surfaced during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan in 2006 about the LAV's reliability and effectiveness in certain boggy Afghan terrain, and as the Taliban increased explosive power of hidden bombs to damage them.

The Canadians studied whether to replace the Strykers with a more heavily armored, tracked vehicle like their German-made Leopard tanks, and pondered which direction to take their future armored vehicles.

The 5th Stryker Brigade is the U.S.'s fourth Stryker brigade to be created and trained at Fort Lewis, which has been known since the late 1990s as the Army's "transformation" center to 21st Century warfare.

The 5th Stryker brigade was activated at Fort Lewis on May 4, 2007. It is commanded by Col. Harry D. Tunnell IV. The brigade's senior non-commissioned officer is Command Sgt. Maj. Robert A. Prosser.

The 5th, which last September had been slated for duty in Iraq, is the only one of the post's three Stryker brigades not yet to have seen combat.

Obama's decision drew quick, supportive responses from key members of both parties in Congress.

U.S. Senator Patty Murray, D-Wa., said:

"Like they have time and again, Fort Lewis' Stryker brigades will answer the President's call to serve with courage and distinction. We are fortunate to have such well-trained and professional soldiers call our state home. But we must also remember our duty to them. As these soldiers and their families prepare to serve our nation, we must ensure that we are providing all the resources and support they need to perform their jobs and return home safely."

House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, who returned from a trip to Afghanistan 10 days ago, said:

"I support the President's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan to help root out terrorism and stabilize the country on behalf of its people. Republicans agree that a strategic review of the current situation in Afghanistan is warranted, and we will work to ensure that our commanders on the ground have all the additional troops they have requested.

"Afghanistan represents a complex challenge, and it will take time to achieve real, sustained results there. Republicans are committed to supporting our men and women in uniform and giving them all the resources they need to succeed in their mission there."

Ellie