via the Seattle Times.
"We have three additional Stryker brigades at Fort Lewis (Wash.) that we didn't have 10 years ago," said Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski, who will soon step down as head of the Fort Shafter command. "That's a lot of Stryker brigades."Amazing.
The fifth Stryker brigade is based in Alaska.
Wiercinski told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Hawaii's Stryker Brigade could revert to a light infantry unit without the armored vehicles.
He said that Hawaii's 25th Infantry Division has just one light infantry brigade as the "Tropic Lightning" division ends its Afghanistan duties and returns to its jungle-fighting roots.
"If I'm focusing the 25th Infantry Division now on Southeast Asia, and back to being the jungle fighters that they've always been, what's my relevance of Strykers?" Wiercinski said.
I called for it but never thought that it would even be considered.
The Army is getting back Light Infantry.
Good news out of the Big Army. About time!
If the stryker was amphibious the Army could play a key role in the Pacific. I thought airborne was supposed to be the army's light infantry? I'm glad to hear that they want to cut some stryker brigades, they certainly have too many of them. I wish the Army would send a Abrams brigade to Alaska, since they pulled out of Germany. Get some training for arctic warfare with strykers and infantry.
ReplyDeletei don't know if the heaters in Strykers work or not but if they don't you won't want anything to do with Alaska in a tank in the winter. being inside an APC when its cold always seemed more cold to me than being out on foot.
DeleteThis is why we need tankers to train in cold environments. You never know where you will be fighting. Plus I like Alaska, nice terrain. I would rather be in cold Alaska than be stuck at Benning or go to the national training centers in the heat. At least have some M1s at Lewis McChord.
Deleteyou've never been to Alaska if you think thats nice tank terrain. marshy, mountains everywhere....it sucks in the summer (mosquitos everywhere and they love to crawl up your nose for some reason), wait a minute vines everywhere, think brush beyond belief, bears the size of mobile homes and moose that will fuck you up if you get too close. and thats the summer.
Deletewinter is agony. have fun!
Depends what part of Alaska your in. You don't seem like a very outdoor person. Plenty of mosquitos in the south. Georgia has terrain thats marshy. It all depends where in Alaska your at. Its not much different than any other artic environment. Least of my worries are bears and moose. I don't think a bear or moose will fuck with a 68 ton tank or armed soldiers.
DeleteTwo active maneuver brigades are based in Alaska, a stryker brigade and airborne, both part of the 25th. I'd assume the heaters work. The brigades however don't direct report to the 25th but rather to USARAK. In either case it's odd the 25th Tropic Lighting Division has a brigade called Arctic Wolves. The Army should bring back the 6th Inf Div if they are going to keep 2 or more brigades in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteIf the Army is serious about adding more light infantry, and they should be, then the 25th is the logical choice. Once a light infantry division it now has a single brigade of 2 light infantry battalions in addition to 2 Stryker and 1 airborne brigade.
Light infantry isn't airborne and airborne are not light infantry. Airborne units have to devote significant time to parachute training and within the batt have a heavy weapons company (nominally called the AT comp). Until recently the light infantry didn't have a company D (AT) but they got one when the brigades went to 2 maneuver batt. If the Army is going to get serious about light infantry then it needs to rethink assigning 60 or so wheeled vehicles to a unit that's supposed to operate in any terrain, including those impassable to vehicles.