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Changes at post driven by war effort

Jan- 1-2006 » Filed Under: General Military

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BY CHRISTIAN HILL

Fort Lewis welcomed nearly 5,500 soldiers in 2005 and will continue to grow this year, with an additional 3,300 soldiers expected by December 2007.

The post faces other changes as well, as it continues a march to create Joint Base Lewis- McChord, a merger ordered by the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

For Fort Lewis, the changes are driven by the ongoing demands of the war effort and the Army's initiative to transform itself into a more efficient, responsive fighting force. McChord also is being called on to deliver troops and equipment to and from the Middle East....

But numerous other units will be headed out, including the 3,500-plus soldiers of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division for its second rotation into Iraq. It was the first Stryker Brigade Combat Team sent into combat back in late 2003 and will deploy again in the middle of the year.

The unit receives its name from the eight-wheeled armored vehicles that fill a gap between light infantry and heavy forces. The vehicles are back at Fort Lewis being overhauled and upgraded for the coming deployment....

The Army post will see huge changes for the three Stryker brigades based there.

In addition to the deployment of the 3rd Brigade, many of the soldiers with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division will move to Germany.

Those soldiers will form the core of a new Stryker brigade, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The regimental name now is attached to the last of the three Stryker brigades at Fort Lewis.

Three Stryker brigades will remain at Fort Lewis, all under the command of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The new unit to succeed the 1st Brigade will activate at Fort Lewis sometime in late 2006 or 2007 and be called the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.

The brigade now known as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment will soon be called the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. It is converting into a Stryker brigade and will be ready for deployment in 2007 or 2008....


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