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Soldiers acclimate to Iraq

Sep-26-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner

It's rainy, chilly in Interior Alaska, and the long dark days of winter are fast approaching. But the 3,800 soldiers of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team from Forts Wainwright and Richardson have acclimated to scorching sun and 100-degree temperatures as they settle into their yearlong deployment in northern Iraq.

Coincidentally, they have found that the Arctic training they underwent in Alaska readied them for the rigors of the desert.

"The same discipline and leader skill that it takes to train and survive in Arctic conditions are the same skills that you need to train and fight in hot weather conditions," brigade commander Col. Michael Shields said Friday.

Shields, along with his leadership team of Lt. Col. Greg Parrish, Sgt. Maj. William Ulibarri and Capt. Michael Blankartz spoke with the News-Miner by phone from Iraq on Friday. They recapped how the brigade has transitioned into its role, taking over operations in northern Iraq, primarily around the Mosul area, from the 1/25 Stryker Brigade based in Fort Lewis, Wash. [...]


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