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Army says it's fixing Stryker

Apr- 4-2005 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT , 3/2 SBCT , Stryker Vehicle

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MATTHEW COX, Army Times

SPRINGFIELD, Va. -- The Army's newest combat vehicle, the Stryker, is already being redesigned because of soldiers' complaints about its safety and performance, military officials said.

Several key systems are being redesigned to give future Strykers better mobility, increased protection and greater killing power, officials said.

But many of the changes won't be in place until late 2006 or spring 2007.

The changes stem from soldiers' complaints outlined in a report from the Center for Army Lessons Learned, which focused on the performance of the Army's first Stryker brigade during its maiden combat tour in Iraq.

By 2007, according to the report, Stryker brigades will be able to shoot on the move with greater accuracy day and night. They'll also have armored shields protecting vulnerable hatches and an improved tire inflation system that can better handle the vehicle's weight in combat.

Army officials in the Stryker program said the improvements were in the works long before the report was completed in December 2004, a couple of months after 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, had come home to Fort Lewis, from its yearlong tour.

The Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan watchdog group, released the report to the public Thursday.

"There wasn't a single surprise in there. In every case, they are being worked," said Steven Campbell, Stryker systems coordinator for the assistant Army secretary for acquisitions, logistics and technology.

Eric Miller, senior defense investigator for the Project on Government Oversight, said the report's findings show the Army should have fully tested the Stryker before sending it to a combat zone. Stryker brigades are meant to serve as the model for the Army's effort to create a lighter, more agile force.

The Army has deployed two of the seven Stryker brigades it plans to field by the summer of 2008. With each brigade taking with it more than 300 vehicles, those seven brigades will cost the Army $7.6 billion.

Soldiers in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, have praised the vehicle during several interviews with the Army Times in Iraq, describing it as the only vehicle they would want to take into combat.

The article continues...


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