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One year later, General Lee rides again

Jun-10-2008 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT , Stryker Vehicle

Found this article via Michael Yon's website. We've mentioned the General Lee before here and here.

By Spc. Lindsey M. Bradford, I Corps Public Affairs Office

A little more than a year after the anti-tank guided missile Stryker dubbed General Lee was retired from Operation Iraqi Freedom, it made its return to Fort Lewis where Soldiers from 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division had been eagerly awaiting its arrival.

General Lee once belonged to Soldiers from 2nd Platoon, C Company, 52nd Infantry Regiment (Anti-Tank), 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. But on April 15, 2007, while conducting operations just south of the Shiek Hamed village in Iraq, the Stryker was hit by a deeply buried improvised explosive device.

Although the General had survived previous blasts in Iraq it was no match for the DBIED, and after returning its crew home from one last mission, it was retired and sent to Balad, where it was later shipped to General Dynamics, in Alabama, to receive some much-needed work.

“I actually processed (the General Lee) when it was at Balad,” recalled Joe Griffiths, material fielding manager for the Stryker program at Fort Lewis. “This thing was completely blown on its side. It needed new armor, a new engine and a good cleaning.”

General Lee arrived in Aniston, Ala., on May 17, 2007, and on May 21, 2008, it was inventoried and handed off to Soldiers in 2nd Squad, A Company, 52nd Infantry Regiment, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. [...]


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