Home » Archives » "Fort Lewis soldiers get some new wheels"

Fort Lewis soldiers get some new wheels

Apr-20-2006 » Filed Under: General Military

Link to Full Article
MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

Soldiers at Fort Lewis are learning to use the Army’s newest version of the Stryker armored vehicle, one that might be called on to protect troops from the nastiest of weapons.

The new Strykers are equipped with an array of sensors, collection tools and computers to detect and identify radiation and chemical and biological agents. Each vehicle’s crew of four soldiers, protected inside their pressurized truck, would go into potentially contaminated areas and warn others to stay clear.

The $2.1 million nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicles are the ninth of 10 versions of the Stryker to be delivered by General Dynamics Land Systems.

The Stryker is the 21-ton medium-weight troop carrier first taken into combat less than three years ago. Two Fort Lewis infantry brigades have gone to war in them, with one of those brigades due to return to Iraq this summer.

The Army has bought 17 of the new NBC models, and there’s funding for another 13 in the 2006 defense budget – a total of three for each of the service’s seven Stryker brigades, with nine to be assigned to other units.

About 20 soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the 555th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade at Fort Lewis are the first to be trained to use them. The post is home to three Stryker brigades.

The soldiers have been training on the trucks since they arrived at Fort Lewis in February. Manuals for some sensors are as thick as Tacoma phone books.

Nonetheless, “it’s pretty easy to learn,” said Sgt. Channing Dingle, a surveyor who operates the vehicle’s sensors and collection equipment.

Periscope-like sensors on top scan the air for hazardous vapors and radiation. There’s a porthole in the rear door that allows surveyors like Dingle to reach out with a special sealed glove to collect and store soil, water and other samples.[...]


Advertisements