Politics & Government

Joint Base Lewis-McChord 3-2 Stryker Brigade Bound For Afghanistan ... Without Stryker Vehicles

The brigade's deputy commander said there might be some subtleties between a Stryker and a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, but the tactics and proficiency of the solders should make the transition seamless.

About 3,000 soldiers with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade will deploy to Southern Afghanistan to conduct counter-insurgency operations in December, Joint Base Lewis-McChord officials announced Tuesday.

And they'll be doing it without Strykers.

Lt. Col. Wayne Brewster, deputy commander, held a press conference with members of the media at JBLM, where he said the brigade will work with Afghan national security forces to protect its people, both operationally and tactically.

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Four of the 3-2’s five units will travel overseas, and the majority will be in Afghanistan for a year.

“Our priorities will be to increase the Afghan national security force’s ability to self-govern and protect its populace,” he said.

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“Essentially this means that the majority of our operations will be working alongside the Afghan national security forces toward the goal of transitioning to where the Afghan national security forces will take the lead.”

The deployment will likely require soldiers to use a non-Stryker vehicle called Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles. The brigade is prepared to deploy without its signature Stryker vehicles and immediately begin using MRAP vehicles upon arrival, he said.

Brewster said the brigade’s proficiency in operations and tactics will make the move to MRAP’s seamless, and that the tactics used by the brigade’s solders won’t be affected simply because they’ll be using a new vehicle.

The soldiers themselves trained to be adaptive and agile no matter the circumstances and received special training to prepare them for the deployment.

“The past year of training was done with mindset that we could be going anywhere,” he said.

“The important part is not about the vehicle for us,” he added. “Even though we’re a Stryker brigade with Stryker vehicles, the strength of the brigade is that we’ve got over 4,000 – it’s an infantry brigade – armed soldiers inside of it.”

(Click here to read The News Tribune's Adam Ashton's story about the how the 3-2 was the first to develop the Strykers).

It also will mark the brigade’s first foray into Afghanistan after it was deployed three times to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Brewster said he expects the culture and terrain of the two countries to differ. For example, unlike Iraq’s desert, Afghanistan’s terrain offers everything from mountains to river valleys to desert.

“I think it’s got a little bit of everything,” he said.

As far as the actual mission, Brewster said the period in which the brigade will be deployed to Afghanistan is similar to Iraq – both are transitioning to being able to provide its own security.

He acknowledged Afghanistan is still a combat area and wouldn’t give a timeline as to when that country would find itself in the same position as Iraq, where almost all U.S. troops have been ordered back to the U.S. by year’s end by President Obama.

“The good news is it looks like we’re headed to a positive direction,” Brewster said.

Just as importantly, Brewster said, is the Army and the surrounding communities around JBLM will take care of the families of the 3,000 soldiers who will be deployed.

Earlier this month, JBLM held a “deployment fair” for the families and plans to hold town meetings. Lacey, the brigade’s community connector, will also hold a send-off party next month.

“Good news is we’ll be home for Christmas next year,” Brewster said.


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