Army Continues Support for Six Stryker Brigades
Transcripts of Army roundtable on Stryker combat vehicle performance available; photos and narrative of fly-in demonstration also online.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The U.S. Army continues to demonstrate its support for fielding six brigades of the new Stryker family of combat vehicles. Recent Army efforts have included a media roundtable and a vehicle-mobility demonstration, transcripts of which have been posted to the U.S. Army’s public affairs website.
Also, in a speech to the Association of the U.S. Army yesterday, Gen. Eric Shinseki, chief of staff of the U.S. Army, said that the Army must have its full allotment of six Stryker brigades.
“We must see the Stryker fielded to provide soldiers the capabilities they’ve needed for the last 12 years,” Shinseki said. “It’s time and the right number is six.”
The roundtable, hosted by the Army on Tuesday, October 15, discussed the operating characteristics and recent performance of the Army’s new Stryker combat vehicles.
There was a Stryker mobility demonstration conducted at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, on Wednesday, Oct. 16. During that demonstration, four Stryker vehicles and infantry troops were flown to Andrews AFB aboard a C-130 cargo plane and a C-17, and within 8 minutes had deployed in a ‘combat ready’ mode. Witnesses at the event included Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White; Dr. Stephen A. Cambone, principal deputy under secretary of defense for Policy; Gen. Shinseki; and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich.
Stryker combat vehicles are manufactured for the Army by the GM GDLS Defense Group, a joint venture of General Motors Corporation and General Dynamics Land Systems, under a $4 billion contract awarded to the companies in November 2000. The Army has said it intends to deploy six brigades of Strykers, or 2,133 vehicles, as part of its transformation to a lighter, more mobile, more lethal fighting force.
General Dynamics Land Systems is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, employs approximately 54,000 people worldwide and anticipates 2002 revenues of approximately $14 billion. The company has leading market positions in business aviation, information systems, shipbuilding and marine systems, and land and amphibious combat systems.
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Any "forward-looking statements" contained in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
General Dynamics Corporation (ticker: GD, exchange: NYSE)
News Release - Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Press Contact: (703) 876-3199
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