Stryker teams train with new vehicles
By Jason Kaye
Fort Lewis Northwest Guardian
FORT LEWIS, Wash. (Army News Service, Aug. 29, 2006) – A long wait is over for Stryker Mobile Gun System (MSG) crews of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, received its complement of MGS vehicles last month after more than a year of waiting. They are the first vehicles to be fielded in the Army.
“I think its going to give the infantry a whole new dimension of what they can do. Armor and infantry have kept each other at arm’s length for years and years," said Sgt. 1st Class David Cooper, an MGS platoon sergeant with B Company, 2-23 Inf. "We’ve got some growing pains, but once we get out there and they see what we can do, we’re going to be everybody’s friend.”
Each infantry company is slated to receive three vehicles, though crews don't expect to operate together except on rare occasions.
The vehicles carry crews of three, and are equipped with a 105 mm main gun and a state-of-the-art fire control system. The MGS also has an onboard coaxial machine gun that’s fire controlled.
“You can literally shoot smiley faces with it at 900 meters,” said Cooper. “Even minus the big gun we can give the infantry a lot of support.”
The 105 mm is capable of firing four types of rounds: SABOT, a depleted-uranium armor-piercing round; HEAT, high-explosive anti-tank; HEP, high-explosive plastic; and a canister round. The rounds are loaded using a hydraulic auto-loader in the rear of the vehicle.
The HEP and canister rounds give Stryker units new capabilities, especially in urban areas. The HEP can blow holes in reinforced concrete walls, but unlike the rounds from an Abrams, won’t continue through the target and into surrounding buildings. The canister provides as effective anti-personnel capability.
“The vehicle’s basic role is to support the infantry. It’s not there to take on tanks or go toe-to-toe in the wide-open desert like we did with the Abrams,” said Sgt. 1st Class William Ozmet, an MGS instructor from Fort Knox, Ky. “Its primary function is blowing a hole in the wall or blowing up bunkers.”
Over the past year, the crews have been training with TOW-ITAS Humvees or other Stryker variants. Finally having the vehicles gives the crews a chance to delve into training.
“I can actually start focusing on our training, both on our mission tasks and working with the infantry,” said 1st Lt. Christopher Lilley, the MGS platoon leader in B Co.
The MGS also comes equipped with training software that allows Soldiers to train on various engagements in their own vehicles, instead of going to a simulator somewhere else.
Once the 4th Bde. completes training, instructors from General Dynamics Land Systems will move on to equip and train Soldiers in Hawaii and Pennsylvania. Training for those units may change according to lessons learned here, but the vehicle itself is expected to remain mostly unchanged.
“I’m confident that this will turn out to be a successful piece of equipment for us, the infantry and the Army,” said Lilley.
(via Army News Service)
Guns and Gigabytes
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MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune
For more than a decade the Army has been trying to put together a wearable package of computers, radios, lasers and other high-tech gear to help infantrymen better pierce the fog of war.
The technology has always been a little too buggy, the equipment too heavy and cumbersome to use under the stress of combat.
But proponents think they’re getting close with a system that Stryker troops are testing at Fort Lewis. If the soldiers and their commanders like it, they might take it with them to Iraq next summer, officials said.
The package, called the Land Warrior System, takes much of the communications, computing and targeting power that’s on a Stryker armored vehicle and puts it into the hands of each infantryman who runs down the ramp.
“Most of us who have been in the Army a long time have been through the evolution of the next whatever – it doesn’t really change what we do, but it’s just a little better, a little faster,” said Lt. Col. William Prior, who commands the battalion training with the system.
“This is much different. … It has the potential to change the way we fight.”
A 2 gigabyte flash memory
The Army and its private contractors have delivered 440 Land Warrior units to the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment. They’re also testing a companion system for 170 Stryker drivers and vehicle commanders called Mounted Warrior.
Soldiers trained on it in May and over the past couple weeks have begun to use it in squad and platoon-level exercises. They’re assessing what they like and working with designers to fix what they don’t, said Lt. Col. Brian Cummings, the program manager.
Improvements in technology have brought the system within reach, proponents say.
Army Assesses new Land Warrior System
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Army News Service
Washington D.C. - The Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior Soldier Systems are under operational assessment at Fort Lewis, Wash., by the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
The U.S. Army Infantry Center conducted a side-by-side comparison between Land Warrior-equipped Soldiers and currently equipped Soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga., in late 2004[...]
The 4th Bn. is equipped with 440 Land Warrior Systems and 147 Mounted Warrior Systems for the assessment, which will continue through September. The assessment is expected to provide significant insights about Land Warrior and Mounted Warrior combat effectiveness, tactics, techniques and procedures.
“Soldiers have been positive so far concerning benefits from Land Warrior capabilities, and continue to provide us valuable feedback to improve the system for the Limited User Test this September,” Hansen said.
The assessment is being sponsored by the Army Infantry Center and Program Executive Office Soldier.
Better than the movies
1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment trains at Yakima
By J.M. Simpson
SFC Pablo Castro was feeling pretty good about himself and his platoon when they reassembled in a shed on the Multi-Purpose Range Complex at the Yakima Training Center.
“Yeah, the training has been phenomenal,” said 1st Platoon, C Company’s leader as he sat down and removed his Kevlar. “What you just saw was a ‘deliberate attack’ exercise, and I think these guys did a pretty good job,” he added.
Castro went on to say that he thinks a movie should made about him and that action movie actor Vin Diesel should play him.
That’s what he thinks.
Diesel couldn’t keep up with Castro and his soldiers. Their assault on the wind swept and dusty objective began with massive suppressive fire on the village, an explosion that left a good sized door in splinters, a clearing of all rooms and a securing of the perimeter.
“These guys are coming together well,” said SSgt Christopher Sterling with a smile after overhearing Castro’s comment about Diesel. “We take this training very seriously; we’ve got veterans in this platoon and the battalion; and all of this work will pay off in the future,” he added.
This particular work began in early June when 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Division, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division deployed to the Yakima Training Center. The battalion returned to Fort Lewis this week.
“These soldiers learn to think in this environment,” explained Lt. Col. Ricardo Love, commander, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, as he stood in the middle of a dirt street in the fictitious Iraqi town of Altafar. “There is a great deal of uncertainty built into the training,” he added.
1Lt Peter Coffman, A Company commander, was getting a lesson in uncertainty as he and his soldiers dismounted from their Strykers and began a cordon and search mission in the town.
Intelligence had reported there was an IED (improvised explosive device) maker in the town. Alpha Company’s mission was to find the bomb maker while at the same time remaining cultural sensitive to the town’s citizens. The key to accomplishing this mission was to work with the mayor.
“As they work through the mission, other dynamics will be introduced,” added Love. “These soldiers have to be city managers; they have to be political; they have to be culturally aware; they have to be penthathletes,” he added.
Before long, dynamics designed to take the soldiers’ focus off the mission became apparent.
A shot rang out. Then another. A sniper hidden in the town’s mosque had shot and killed the mayor and wounded a soldier.
Uncertainty set in. The company’s mission was to find the bomb maker; however, Coffman had just lost the mayor and he had one soldier down. Moreover, enraged “Iraqi citizens” began to push and yell at the soldiers.
“This is some of the stuff we throw at them,” explained 1Lt Ryan Lendall as he watched how Coffman and his soldiers reacted. “The point here is to find out where the mess ups occur, to look for the weak spots, and then fix them. It’s OK to look bad now; we want everyone coming home alive when it’s for real,” he added.
Coffman’s men managed to control the “Iraqi citizens” as they expressed outrage at their mayor’s death, and they also managed to successful evacuate their “wounded” soldier. What’s more, other soldiers had found the bomb maker and his supplies.
Then they made a mistake. They flex cuffed the bomb maker and then left him. Unguarded. He simply got up and walked away, and when he did he took some of his bomb making materials with him.
All of this action occurred while some of the townspeople continued to express their displeasure at having the soldiers in their town.
Coffman’s uncertainty hovered between trying to remain culturally sensitive while at the same time accomplishing the mission and protecting his soldiers.
At one point, Coffman ordered the taking of the mosque where the sniper was hidden. “That’s going to start a riot,” he said to no one in particular. However, he was operating well within the rules of engagement.
A small riot ensued. But Alpha Company handled the situation well as Coffman continued to work with the town’s imam, or religious leader.
The soldiers continued with the mission. They found weapons and explosives; they detained several suspects and searched a tunnel; they worked on security and communication. The hardest part seemed to be communicating with the “Iraqis.”
“Language is an issue,” pointed out Love. “The citizens will respect us it we know some of the language,” he added.
As the exercise wound to an end, Alpha Company began to withdraw. It had been an intense morning’s work.
“We train harder than what we expect to face,” said Love. “By making it hard here, we should do well when in Iraq,” he added.
With the mission completed, Coffman and his company sat through an after action report (AAR). They were briefed on what they had done well and where they had erred. Overall, the mission was graded a success.
As they returned to their Strykers to head back to base camp, Alpha Company began to relax a bit.
“They’re in for a surprise on the way back,” said Lendall. “The training wouldn’t be complete without an ambush.”
It’s training Diesel couldn’t have kept up with.
On Target: A soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, hones his marksmanship with the M240 during a reflexive training drill at the Yakima Training Center.
Outta Here: Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, work to maintain control as Iraqi reenactors attempt to prevent the soldiers from entering a mosque.
Pointing Fingers: A soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, tells an Iraqi reenactor to step back during a training exercise at the Yakima Training Center.
(Story and photos courtesy of J.M. Simpson - The Fort Lewis Ranger Newspaper)
By end of ceremony, two units at Fort Lewis have new names, flags
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By Christian Hill, The Olympian
FORT LEWIS - The Army post won't be the only thing the second Stryker Brigade Combat Team leaves behind as it moves to Germany this summer.
The 3,600-member brigade received a new name Thursday during a rain-drenched ceremony.
The move and name change are part of the Army's reorganization to increase the number of active-duty combat brigades, and it didn't have to look far to find a new moniker. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, became the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
FORT LEWIS - The Army post won't be the only thing the second Stryker Brigade Combat Team leaves behind as it moves to Germany this summer.
The 3,600-member brigade received a new name Thursday during a rain-drenched ceremony.
The move and name change are part of the Army's reorganization to increase the number of active-duty combat brigades, and it didn't have to look far to find a new moniker. The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, became the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
Army units trade names, flags
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MICHAEL GILBERT, The News Tribune
The 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division is on its way out of Fort Lewis, headed for Germany – and it’s taking the identity of one of its sister units with it.
At a ceremony today, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the oldest continuously serving regiment in the U.S. Army, will surrender its name, colors and lore to the 1-25 in a reflagging ceremony at Fort Lewis.
Then the old 2nd Cav will be redubbed the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. And the 1-25’s identity will go into storage until it is handed over to another formation in Alaska.
Confused?
It’s all part of a major reorganization to increase the Army’s brigade combat teams from 33 to 43.
And it has to do with history.
The soldiers of the 2nd Cav have toiled at Fort Lewis the past couple of years, getting heaping helpings of cavalry folklore from their commanders as they convert to a Stryker brigade. But the unit has old ties to Germany.
From World War II until the end of the Cold War, its scouts sat across the East German and Czech border, looking for signs of a Soviet invasion that never came.
‘Land Warriors’ Link Up With Stryker Vehicles
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By Sandra I. Erwin, National Defense
An Army Stryker battalion training for possible deployment to Iraq in 2007 will outfit hundreds of its soldiers with the high-tech “land warrior” ensemble this summer. These soldiers will help determine whether the system is suitable for combat and if the Army should continue to invest in the technology.
The land warrior ensemble includes a communications and navigation computer-radio suite, a helmet-mounted display and a customized rifle. The land warriors are connected to a network, and each can pinpoint the others’ location simply by looking into their displays. They are the dismounted equivalent of the “blue-force tracking” system the Army employs aboard vehicles.
The unit assigned to test land warrior is the 1st Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based at Fort Lewis, Wash. The regiment is the fourth of six brigades that will operate the Stryker armored personnel carrier.
“We are probably the ideal unit to have this equipment,” says Maj. Keith Markham, squadron executive officer. “The Stryker brigade is digital by nature, and all our soldiers are pretty comfortable with digital systems,” he says. “For us, this is just one more digital system that we add to our kitbag.”
Another reason why the Stryker units make a good fit for land warrior is that soldiers generally don’t move too far from their vehicles, so they are not likely to have to carry extra loads of ammunition and water, as would be the case with light infantry troops. Land warrior weighs about 17 pounds, which does not seem excessive until one asks a soldier who already is loaded down with 70 pounds of gear to put on additional weight, Markham says.
“One of the issues with land warrior is the weight,” he adds. “As the system is right now, it would be difficult for a light infantry battalion to really use this effectively. For them, it’s a significant increase in weight.” Stryker troops are more apt to handle the extra weight, because when they get out of the vehicle, they carry only what they need to fight with, and the vehicles follow close behind.
“Most of the weight is the batteries, but the weapon, too, gets heavy on the arms after a while.”
Markham’s battalion has approximately 71 Stryker armored personnel carriers and 700 soldiers, of whom 400 are dismounted troops who will be wearing the land warrior gear. The vehicles will be outfitted with special computers that will connect them to the dismounted land warriors, and will also have battery chargers. Each land warrior only carries enough batteries for a 24-hour mission.
The unit recently began a year-long training program in preparation for a possible deployment to Iraq next spring or summer. The land warrior test is being incorporated into the unit’s tactical drills.
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