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C-130s deliver Strykers at Fort Polk exercise

by Spc. Lorie Jewell

ALEXANDRIA, La. (Army News Service, May 21, 2003) - Air Force C-130 cargo planes labored for about nine hours May 18 to deliver a company of infantry soldiers and Stryker interim armored vehicles to Esler Air Field, La.

The airlift was part of "Arrowhead Lightning II," an operational certification exercise for the Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Polk, La. The 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Fort Lewis, Wash., began the exercise last weekend and it runs through the end of May.

The first of 21 Strykers - an Infantry Carrier Vehicle - arrived at Ensler Air Field shortly before 8 a.m. with a team of 11 soldiers from Geronimo alternate landing strip, a dirt runway at Fort Polk's Joint Readiness Training Center.

The C-130 can land on airstrips, like Geronimo's dirt runway, that are inaccessible to larger planes, demonstrating how they can assist in moving the Stryker force to the battlefield, according to Lt. Col. Joe Piek, the Transformation Public Affairs Officer from Fort Lewis.

By 4:30 p.m., 175 soldiers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment were on the ground with their vehicles, setting up a base of operations in a nearby wooded area. The unit is among the thousands of soldiers from Fort Lewis participating in the exercise.

The company recently flew a mission on C-17 cargo planes - which can carry three Strykers each - but this was the first time the unit moved with all of its vehicles on C-130s, which hold single Strykers.

It's a snug fit for the Stryker in the belly of the cargo plane. Of the eight Stryker variants, Co. B has six - the infantry carrier vehicle, commander's vehicle, mortar carrier, medical evacuation vehicle, fire support vehicle and the anti-tank guided missile vehicle. The unit doesn't have engineer squad or reconnaissance vehicles.

Some Strykers had to be partially disassembled - the MC, for instance - for drivers to maneuver them into the planes. After rolling off, drivers and their teams headed for the company's operations base to reconfigure their Strykers.

"We knew we could do it,'' said 1st Lt. Nathan Grotze, the company's executive officer. "But we wanted to see how well we could move the whole company at one time. In our eyes, it went very well."

The 146th Air Wing from Channel Island, Calif., and 152nd Air Wing from Reno, Nev., lent assistance with the mission by flying the C-130s. The Louisiana National Guard also played a role by facilitating the operation at its airfield.

Brig. Gen. Brod Veilon, assistant adjutant general for the Louisiana National Guard, observed the C-130 flights throughout the day, as did Brig. Gen. Jason Kamiya, commander of the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk.

"This is a unique opportunity for the various services to work together,'' said Veilon. "It's a great day for the Louisiana National Guard to help with training and validation of the Stryker."

(Spc. Lorie Jewell is a member of the 107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)