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No ‘rude awakening’ this time

May- 8-2006 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

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MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

All the major training is done. The vehicles will be loaded onto ships later this month at the Port of Olympia, and by the end of next month, the Army’s first Stryker brigade will be on its way back to Iraq.

Nearly half the 4,000 soldiers in the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were with the unit the first time it went over in November 2003.

Their experience, and that of the two Stryker brigades that succeeded them, have informed preparations different from the last time, the Fort Lewis-based soldiers say.

“Before, we went over thinking we knew what was going on over there,” said Staff Sgt. Scott Muetz, a Stryker infantryman preparing for his second trip. “Of course, it was a rude awakening.”

Before their first deployment, the soldiers prepared mainly for the big fight: traditional force-on-force confrontations like they might have encountered if they had been part of the initial invasion.

This time they’ve focused on fresh lessons from the counterinsurgency, with a heavy emphasis on understanding the Iraqi culture.

Training also has focused more on documenting evidence against insurgents who are captured, as if soldiers were police investigators.

“This trip we’re not going in blind,” Muetz said. “All the leadership, they’re all veterans. They’ve seen what kind of folks we deal with on a regular basis, they know how to interact, how not to step on toes unintentionally, and to make sure you’re stepping on the right toes.”


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