Site Essentials
- » Site Introduction
- » Comment Policy
- » Stryker Brigade 101
- » FAQ
- » Thank The Troops
- » Support Our Site
- » Contact Us
- » Terms & Conditions
In Memoriam
Browse Archives
Search Archives
Subscribe to SBN
Browse Our Shop
Awards
[Link to Full Article]
By LES STEWART
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP -- With some of its units formed during the Revolutionary War, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 56th Brigade, 28th Infantry Division yesterday officially became part of the nation's military future.
During ceremonies that formally recognized formation of a new unit, the 56th Brigade became the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
"We unveil today's future for the Army," said Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, adjutant general of the Pennsylvania National Guard.
"Charles Darwin, the naturalist, said it's not the strongest who survive, not the most intelligent, but those that are the most adaptive to change," U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, said during ceremonies at Muir Airfield.
Pennsylvania has the only National Guard unit to be designated as a Stryker Brigade...
In 2001, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard was selected as one of six brigades for conversion to Stryker Brigade Combat Team status. The other five brigades are active Army units. Fort Indiantown Gap was chosen in July 2003 as the home base for the Stryker Brigade.
The Stryker Brigades are designed for rapid deployment anywhere in the world within days. The brigades are best known for their Stryker vehicles, a 19-ton armored vehicle that carries a nine-man squad and is armed with a grenade launcher and a .50-caliber machine gun.
Two Stryker Brigades have already seen combat in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Benjamin S. Griffin, Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army, said at yesterday's ceremony.
The 3,500-soldier brigade is comprised of units from throughout Pennsylvania. One of those units, the 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry of Plymouth Meeting, dates to the Revolutionary War, according to the Pennsylvania National Guard.
"We can give you the best technology in the world -- which the Stryker Brigade Combat Team represents -- but you are the warriors," Griffin said to the assembled soldiers who make up the new Stryker Brigade.