• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Hawaii gets approval for Stryker Brigade

Army News Service

By Staff Sgt. Bradley Rhen

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii (Army News Service, July 12, 2004) U.S. Army Pacific has officially approved a Stryker Brigade Combat Team for Hawaii, putting to end three years of speculation, environmental studies and debate.

When it returns from its current Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) will begin the transformation into an SBCT.

Lt. Gen. James Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, made the official announcement July 7 at Fort Shafter, Hawaii. He said he signed the final record of decision to transform the 2nd Brigade to become a SBCT after reviewing the final Environmental Impact Statement, reading 2,000 concerns from the citizens of Hawaii who voiced their opinion during the public comment period, ensuring that the proper mitigation measures were in place or are planned, and then weighing the added effectiveness, readiness and protection for Soldiers the SBCT will bring to the Army.

"We owe [Soldiers] the best possible training, the best possible equipment and the best possible technology not only to do their jobs for their country, but to protect their lives, and the Stryker Brigade does exactly that," Campbell said.

Hawaii's SBCT will be the fifth of six planned SBCTs. The first two are based at Fort Lewis, Wash., and there will also be one each in Louisiana, Alaska and Pennsylvania.

Only one is currently operational, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort Lewis, and it is currently deployed to Iraq.

The Army's second SBCT - 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division - recently underwent its operational capabilities evaluation. It is expected to be certified by the Department of Defense as operationally ready sometime this summer, and will eventually replace 3rd Bde., 2nd ID in Iraq, officials said.

Why a Stryker

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United States and its coalition partners responded by sending thousands of troops to the region. Eventually Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm defeated Iraq and liberated Kuwait.

However, many of the units that were sent to the region were heavy armored units based on Cold War strategy and took weeks, if not months, to get to the Middle East. Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki as one of his first actions after taking office in 1999 announced that the Army would transform so that would never happen again.

Based around the 19-ton, eight-wheeled Stryker vehicle, SBCTs are designed to bridge the gap between the Army's heavy and light units. The Stryker can be deployed by C-130, C-17 or C-5 aircraft, and be combat-capable upon arrival in any contingency area.

Lt. Col. Gerald Schmitz, 25th ID (L) deputy chief of staff for transformation said the SBCTS are designed to give the Army a capability that it doesn't currently have.

"That is to bridge the gap between the light force, like the current 25th Infantry Division, and the heavy force equipped with tanks and Bradleys, like the 4th Infantry Division or the 1st Armored Division," he said. "It's a force that's more rapidly deployable, more tactically mobile, more tactically lethal and has significantly increased visibility of what's going on on the battlefield."

Before this transformation process, the Army was based on the World War II model, with heavy divisions and light divisions, Schmitz said.

"We needed something that was a little more strategic and mobile," he said.

The vehicles have robust armor protection, can reach speeds in excess of 60 miles-per-hour, have parts commonality and self-recovery abilities, and also have a central tire inflation system. In other words, the tires can be shot out and the vehicle can still run on them.

SBCTs have about 3,600 personnel and include three infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron, an artillery battalion, a support battalion, a military intelligence company, an engineer company, a signal company and an anti-tank company.

Traditional infantry brigades are only organized with these capabilities for large training exercises or for war. In the SBCT, these units train together year-round.

The Stryker vehicle has 10 variants that include the Infantry Carrier Vehicle, Mobile Gun System, Anti-Tank Guided Missile Vehicle, Reconnaissance Vehicle, Fire Support Vehicle, Engineer Squad Vehicle, Mortar Carrier Vehicle, Commander's Vehicle, Medical Evacuation Vehicle, and a Nuclear Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle.

Impact on Hawaii

The Hawaii SBCT will have a significant impact on both Oahu and the Big Island. The SBCT will bring about 800 additional Soldiers and about 300 more tactical vehicles to the state.

There are 28 construction projects tied to the SBCT, including several range complexes at Schofield Barracks and Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. The new ranges will facilitate the type of training the SBCT will need to conduct.

There are plans to construct roads that link Schofield Barracks to both Helemano Military Reservation and Dillingham Military Reservation. Drum Road, which connects HMR to the Kahuku Training Area, will also be improved.

On the Big Island, the road from the port at Kawaihae to PTA will be improved so vehicles that are transported to the island on ships can easily make it to PTA.

"The purpose of those road projects is to get a majority of our military traffic - tactical wheeled vehicle traffic - off the civilian highways and give us access to these training areas so we don't disrupt the traffic flow," Schmitz said.

The Army is also looking to purchase about 1,400 acres of land next to Schofield Barracks and about 23,000 acres on the west side of PTA.

As far as concerns that the SBCT will damage the environment, Schmitz said the Environmental Impact Study that was developed over the last couple years to address the SBCT coming to Hawaii has taken into consideration all the environmental impacts. As a result, the Army has developed a number of mitigation measures that will be put in place that will help mitigate the things that might be impacted by the SBCT.

At last week's announcement, Campbell said the Army has spent more than $50 million in Hawaii over the past five years on environmental and cultural mitigation.

"In the same spirit of commitment to this environment... we are prepared to spend up to $40 million over the next five years to mitigate any environmental impact in the fielding and training of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team," Campbell said.

Despite all the precautions, Schmitz believes there is a misunderstanding of what the Stryker actually is. He thinks a lot of people have the perception that the Stryker is similar to a tank or Bradley, which are track vehicles.

"They have this image of tanks and Bradleys rolling across the open terrain and tearing up roads," Schmitz said. "In fact, really the Stryker is a troop transport vehicle more than anything. It's another form of moving Soldiers on the battlefield, offering greater protection than what they have right now."

Schmitz believes that once people actually see a Stryker and understand its mission, they will have a different impression of what the Stryker is.

Proven in Combat

Two Soldiers from the SBCT that is currently deployed to Iraq were on hand at last week's announcement. Sgt. Benjamin Herman, a team leader from Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, and Spc. Christopher Hegyes, a scout from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, spoke with reporters to help dispel some myths and give first-hand accounts of the Strykers' performance in combat.

Herman, who was accustomed to the life of a light infantryman, said the best thing about the Stryker is the transportation it provides.

"You get to the fight fresh and ready to fight," he said. "You're not humping 25 or 30 miles and getting worn out."

Both Soldiers also touted the vehicles to move to a conflict quickly, and most importantly, quietly. They said Iraqis call them "Ghost Riders" and "Ghost Soldiers" because they show up and deploy their Soldiers with little noise or warning.

"We would show up and kick in their door and that's when they would know we were there," Herman said.

Schmitz said everything he has heard about the Stryker vehicles' performance in combat has been positive. He said the Stryker vehicle has proven its worth in protecting Soldiers, and the units in Iraq have taken no fatalities because enemy attacks.

In addition to the vehicles' armor, the vehicles in Iraq have been fitted with a cage that protects it from rocket-propelled grenades.

"That extra protection has been overwhelmingly positive for the Soldiers," Schmitz said.

Hegyes can attest to the protection afforded by the Strykers. His vehicle was hit by an IED and he was the only Soldier to be injured, a wound to his leg.

Herman and Hegyes both said they haven't seen any problems with the Strykers and that the positives far outweigh any negatives.

Stability in a Time of Uncertainty

Once the 2nd BCT returns from Iraq next year, it will move quickly into transformation, officials said. After recovery from the current deployment is complete, the Soldiers will go through nearly two years of training on the new equipment and tactics.

Stryker vehicles will start arriving in the summer of 2006 and the SBCT should be operational in 2007.

There are a number of options and bonuses being offered for Soldiers to re-enlist to be a part of the SBCT, Schmitz said. One of the biggest incentives, he said, is stabilization for about two years. While the rest of the Army will continue to deploy to support operations around the world, Soldiers of Hawaii's SBCT will be stabilized until the unit becomes operational in 2007.

"Those Soldiers who come back will either get out of the Army, or they'll PCS to another organization," Schmitz said. "If they PCS to another organization, say the 10th Mountain Division or the 101st or any one of our other Army divisions, there's no guarantee that six months later they won't be back in theater somewhere."

Those who are part of the SBCT will be stabilized in Hawaii for about two years and most likely will not deploy anywhere other than training exercises.

(Editor's note: Staff Sgt. Bradley Rhen is editor of the Hawaii Army Weekly at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.)