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Stryker unit won't go until first one's back

Apr-29-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

Michael Gilbert summarizes much of the recent speculation regarding both Ft. Lewis-based Stryker Brigades in the following article.

[Link to Full Article]
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

The second Fort Lewis Stryker brigade will go to Iraq, but not until it's time to bring the first one home, a senior general with the U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.

"We're going to hold the Stryker brigade until it's time to bring it in to replace the one that's currently in the north," Marine Corps Maj. Gen. John Sattler, the Central Command operations director, told reporters in a briefing from Qatar.

The first Stryker brigade - 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division - began a scheduled one-year deployment in November.

Sattler's comments are the first firm public statement by a U.S. military official about the second Stryker brigade's immediate plans. For the past two weeks there has been building speculation - in the media, at least - that Iraq war planners might call for the brigade sooner rather than later.

The New York Times, for instance, reported this week that the second brigade was a leading option under consideration for replacing the 20,000 soldiers whose tours were extended earlier this month. The Times attributed its report to unnamed senior military officials.


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