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Annual prayer breakfast honors veterans

Nov- 8-2004 » Filed Under: 56th SBCT

There is some information here regarding the 56th SBCT, which is part of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 28th Infantry Division. It is one of the six Stryker Brigades planned.

[Link to Full Article]
Carol Cummings, Sentinel reporter

BURNHAM — He sat in the last seat at the table and listened to conversations around him. In his pressed plaid shirt and suspenders, ball cap carefully laid to the side, Richard Druckenmiller of McClure could be anybody’s grandfather.

As a veteran of both World War II and the Korean Conflict, Druckenmiller also could have been one of the U.S. military’s casualties of war.

But, he is one of the lucky ones.

After seeing combat in two of America’s conflicts, Druckenmiller left the Army after his second enlistment and returned to a quiet civilian life.

But he never forgot.

Which is why Druckenmiller, along with about 100 other area veterans, their families and friends, attended the 10th annual Veterans Prayer Breakfast sponsored by The Disabled American Veterans and Vietnam Veterans of America Central Pennsylvania Chapter 791. The event was held at The Fraternal Order of Eagles - Seven Mountains Aerie 4294 in Burnham on Saturday. [...]

Maj. Sam Hayes was the guest speaker. Hayes is the deputy operations officer for the 28th Infantry Division and is assigned to the STRYKER Brigade Combat Team transformation team.

The Army’s six STRYKER teams are among the most highly deployable units in the military and are often called into combat situations in diverse parts of the world.

Hayes shifted gears with his speech.

“(Today) we have been looking at the past. I’d like to talk about the Army’s future direction.
“We are looking at a pretty dramatic transformation. Probably the most significant transformation since World War II and perhaps the biggest transformation in the history of the Army,” Hayes said.

Speed is the “name of the game” in military maneuvers. Coupled with efficiency and effectiveness, speed is the key to achieving the Army’s goal of being ever more deployable, according to the Major.

“The STRYKER organization is very deployable and it is very lethal,” Hayes said. “What it does is it prevents soldiers from dying, from being wounded. And, it allows them to come home more quickly.”

First proposed by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki in the 1990s, the STRYKER teams are the bridge between heavy armored forces and light artillery forces. Their vehicles have four key components: They must weigh less than 38 tons, they must be deployable by C-17 aircraft, they must be self-sustaining for three days and they must be capable of travel between 40 and 60 miles per hour.

Within the six units, there are now 300 STRYKER vehicles and more than 3,500 trained combat soldiers.

“They are known in Iraq as the ‘ghost soldiers,’” Hayes said.

There is only one STRYKER unit that is a reserve component. It is assigned to The Pennsylvania National Guard 28th Infantry Division.


Comments For "Annual prayer breakfast honors veterans":

Sorry, but I just couldn't pass by the fact that the story leads one to believe that there are only 300 TOTAL Stryker vehicles and 3500 soldiers. I sent an email directly to the editor of this paper to see if she wouldn't print a correction in the paper.
Ardis

Posted by: Ardis | November 8, 2004 6:16 PM

Yeah, noticed that too, but let it slide.

Posted by: Todd | November 8, 2004 6:34 PM

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