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Strykers prep for September deployment

Dec-19-2007 » Filed Under: 1/25 SBCT

By Chris Freiberg, Daily News-Miner

The commander of the 1-25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team confirmed Tuesday that the unit likely will be going back to Iraq next year.

Speaking to the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Col. Burt Thompson told the crowd of several hundred business owners that the Stryker Brigade, formerly known as the 172nd Infantry Brigade, is training for a September deployment.

“We won’t be celebrating Christmas here next year,” he said.

While visiting Fort Wainwright last week, Gen. George W. Casey Jr., chief of staff of the Army, met with several members of the Stryker Brigade and mentioned that plans were in motion to send them to the Mideast next fall. The news seemed to take the soldiers by surprise.

Thompson on Tuesday did not say how long next year’s deployment might last.

Stryker Brigades are named after the family of eight-wheeled all-terrain vehicles used in the field.

To date, seven Stryker Brigades have been formed, and three of them are on the ground in Iraq. Many soldiers have praised the heavy armor and offensive capabilities of the Stryker vehicles.

During his speech, Thompson called them “a bridge to the future of combat technologies.”

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Iraq, but you want to be there in a Stryker,” he said.

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