Home » Archives » "Stryker families grapple with emotions"

Stryker families grapple with emotions

Aug-15-2006 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

Link to Full Article
By LISA DEMER, Anchorage Daily News

More than 300 soldiers from the 172nd Stryker Brigade who returned to Alaska earlier this summer after a year of war duty are being shipped back to Iraq, this time to the dangerous capital of Baghdad.

They'll rejoin thousands of troops from their Alaska-based brigade who learned last month that their tour was being extended just as they were preparing to come home.

The news is disappointing, even devastating, for families who thought their soldiers' war duty was ending.

The 301 Stryker troops being recalled will join more than 3,500 still in Iraq, officials announced Monday. The soldiers, known for their wheeled, armored vehicles, are tasked with an enormous mission: to bring order to Baghdad, where escalating violence is being described by some as civil war.

"From a tactical and military standpoint, this makes all the sense in the world. It is much preferable to reassemble a proven team," Maj. Gen. Charles Jacoby, commander of the U.S. Army Alaska, said from Fort Wainwright on Monday in a video news conference that included the Pentagon.

"The brigade needs these soldiers back," said Jacoby, who was surrounded by affected soldiers and their families.

Related Article:

Alaska troops glum they won't be home - Associated Press


Advertisements