Stryker increases troops' survivability

Courtesy Photo | CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (3 Jan., 2007) - A Soldier with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat...... read more read more

Courtesy Photo | CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (3 Jan., 2007) - A Soldier with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team unloads equipment from a Stryker prior to cleaning the vehicle during their recent redeployment. The 172nd SBCT utitlized the Stryker extensively during their 16 months in Iraq.  see less | View Image Page

(UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)

01.03.2007

Story by Spc. Deborah Ledesma 

40th Public Affairs Detachment

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By Spc. Debrah A. Robertson
40th Public Affairs Detachment

SOUTWEST ASIA (Jan. 3, 2007) - I need pressure to stop this bleeding! Someone start an IV!

Brightly lit and teeming with medics, this is not an operating room or even an ambulance. This is a Medical Evacuation Stryker vehicle.

There are 10 different variants of the Stryker. Its smooth ride and heavy armor allow it to support multiple functions, from infantry power to engineering teams to ambulatory services.

Each variant shares a common platform, said Gerald Pokorski, a logistical management specialist operating with the Project Management Office, Stryker Brigade Combat Team. This simplifies the process of repairing the Stryker because there are more interchangeable parts.

"All ten Stryker variants are 80 percent compatible chassis," said Maj. Robbie Parke, the information operations officer of 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. "This means ease of maintenance for our repair teams. Mechanics can now run the motor pool similar to a 'fleet,' which is easier and more cost effective."

"There was a lot of engineering to create the Stryker as a high-tech, combat vehicle," said Raymond Lopez, senior logistical analyst of PMO, SBCT.

"The Stryker was created to fill the gap between heavy forces and light forces," said Pokorski.

Gen. Eric Shinseki envisioned a vehicle such as the Stryker after the Bosnian War and the Gulf War. He wanted something with a punch that's easily deployable, said Pokorski. He wanted a rapid deployment force with armored protection.

The Stryker fit the bill.

"The Stryker is extremely mobile and can cross urban terrain quickly and quietly," said Parke, who is now utilizing the Stryker to its fullest capabilities on the streets of Baghdad.

"It has fairly good sprint speed and can pursue civilian cars with some degree of success," Parke added.

The survivability of the Stryker when it is hit by an improvised explosive device is excellent, said Pokorski.

"I'm proud to work on a vehicle where Soldiers are willing to give testimonials that you can have all eight wheels shot out and keep rolling."

A 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Soldier told Lopez that he survived 11 different IEDs and went home safely with the rest of his unit, recalled Lopez with pride.

"It's proven itself in combat situations," he said. "In both rural and urban fights, it continues to meet and exceed the expectations of the (Stryker) units."

"It has proven many times over it can take the punishment of most IEDs in Iraq," said Parke, "and more importantly is its mobility after an IED attack.

"We have Strykers drive away from an IED strike with all eight tires flat, roll into the (forward operating base), get refitted with new tires and equipment and be back on the streets within hours.

"That's significantly different than a tracked vehicle. An IED strike that breaks the track of a Bradley or M1A2 (Abrahams) tank will disable the vehicle for several hours until the crew can either repair the track or get the vehicle evacuated by other means. Those long hours sitting in a kill zone of an IED strike can be dangerous times for Soldiers with the enemy still watching," he continued.

The Stryker's survivability, and therefore the survivability of the Soldiers inside, make it stand out above the rest.

"It's quiet, quick and lethal, and that's the key," said Lopez. "It can carry an entire squad of infantry and deliver them to their needed location quickly."

"It is a 'quick and rapid response of a lethal force,'" Lopez continued, just what Gen. Shinseki had in mind.

But the most important aspect of the Stryker is the force behind it. The men and women who use the Stryker everyday.

"The most lethal capability on the Stryker is the nine-man infantry squad that dismounts when the ramp drops," said Parke.

The Stryker is a tool used by servicemembers to storm through enemy lines, flood the battlefield with trained Soldiers and bring wounded Soldiers back to the forward operating base and eventually home to their families.

The Stryker is an engineer vehicle helping build and repair a broken country, Iraq. It is a vessel used to carry leaders, fighters and medics.

"It's great because of its mobility, its armor and the guys in the vehicles," said Private 1st Class Jason Brown, an infantryman with the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team.