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Stryker force soldier says concept unique

Sep-21-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

[Link to Full Article]
By KEN McLEMORE, Hope Star Writer

Editor's note - Following is the second of two parts from an interview with U.S. Army Sergeant Ben Wise of Hope.

Most Americans have little perspective concerning the professional soldier beyond the Hollywood version; but, the Stryker force concept adopted by the U. S. Army in 1999 and now deployed in Iraq is built around the lean, mobile, agile, and forceful attributes of combat as a profession.

U.S. Army Sergeant Ben Wise, of Hope, is among the first professional soldiers who have applied that concept under fire.

The son of Dr. Jean and Mary Wise, of Hope, Sgt. Wise recently began the second of two four-year enlistments in the U. S. Army, having taken basic training at Fort Benning, Ga., then assignment to airborne training their before assignment to the 2nd Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, 5/20th Infantry Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash., where he became a Stryker force vehicle commander.

Instituted at Fort Lewis in 1999 with the development of the Stryker family of combat vehicles, the Interim Brigade Combat Team, later nicknamed the "Stryker force," is a concept of military action unique to the armed services, according to U.S. Army Public Affairs information.

"The Stryker-equipped IBCT will provide the joint and multinational force commander increased operational and tactical flexibility to execute the fast-paced, distributed, non-contiguous operations envisioned across the full spectrum of conflict," the Army's 2002 announcement of the concept said.

The professionalism in the new force concept intrigued Wise.

Be sure to read the rest.


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