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Re-Thinking The Role Of A Stryker

We are all aware of the serious problemsthe US Army is now engaged in Iraq and
with the Stryker MGS, but now thatAfghanistan (i.e. the turret commander
Stryker Brigades have entered combat,can acquire targets and direct fire
and peace stabilization work in Iraq, abetter). The only clear cut advantage
number of observations have been made.that the overhead turret has is in the
They are a hell of a lot safer thantank destroyer role.
being in a light armored jeep. They canFinally, if the US Army bought a batch
handle rifle and machine rounds. Smallerof conventional 105mm turrets for an
IED and personnel mines handled withoutinterim solution, after the overhead
too much difficulty.turret version is fielded those turrets
However, they cannot take the punishmentcould be removed and easily sold on the
that the M2 Bradley can handle. Evenworld export market.
with SLAT armor, they have fallen preyOne of the problems with the Stryker MGS
when multiple RPG are fired at them.is that some people tried to make them a
They are reportedly also taking a lot oftank replacement. They could have gotten
damage in the wheel areas of theaway with a vehicle with more firepower
vehicles, whereas the tracked M2 wouldover the 25-40mm cannon, with something
brush them off, keep on moving, andlike the Canadian Cougar with its short
fighting.76mm gun, and had no problems with
Considering the foregoing, do you thinkshooting it. However, that would have
the Stryker will be relegated a lesserbrought into question the disparity
position in the new modular army, withbetween the 105-120mm guns on tanks.
the M2 being put back into theI have no problems with light armored
spotlight. I note that to date I haven'tforces, after all that is what I served
seen much about the speed of the Strykerin, however the Rumsfeld's of the world,
being of much use in convoy or patroland lord knows we have our share of them
duties, which makes one wonder if theup here, had an agenda and nothing was
think-tanks are hashing this over ingoing to change their ideology, even if
terms of light mobility that can'tlives were lost. For me and I'd suggest
handle RPG's let alone larger munitions.many others that is the bottom line.
The M2/M3 has shown that they can takeIt also brings into question the thought
more damage, sure, but they're stillprocesses that the Stryker's would not
vulnerable to RPGs. The other thing thatbe in frontline combat as this would be
surprised me is that Stryker's tend toleft to tanks and heavier armor in the
do better when hit in the wheel areasway of the M2 and M3, but they somehow
than Bradley's; the RPG detonates whenforgot how insurgency fighting can be as
it hits the tires, meaning it disablesdangerous as frontline duty. Convoys
the vehicle but doesn't punch throughwith weaker armor can still cost lives,
the armor, while the same hit wouldn'tjust as frontline combat can and in Iraq
necessarily disable the Bradley but it'dthat never ending lesson is played out
kill everybody inside. I'll ride in thefar too often.
Stryker.One of the other posters said something
Also, the Stryker was never meant toimportant, IMHO, that these types of
lead an assault when there was realvehicles have a place for base security
armor available; it's supposed to deploypatrols, true peacekeeping where the
quickly like the 82nd did in 1990 forbelligerents want you there as a buffer
the Gulf War, and then it's good forforce, but otherwise this use of
peacekeeping stuff, plus it's a goodStryker's in a combat zone has to be
platform for middle echelon forces.rethought. Maybe with newer Stryker's
The Stryker's have done pretty good inthat have added armor this situation
Mosul with 1-24 INF. I saw that had beenwill improve. I know that they have done
hit by a car bomb, the only thing reallypretty good in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
wrong with it was the tyranny made someIn prior conflicts Canadian troops lost
funny noises and it needed some newtheir legs, and sometimes lives due to
tires and a paint job.the inherit weakness in the M-113 APC,
One item that the Stryker units in Iraqwith the wheels and bottom protection
wish they had "the day before" is thedoing what they are supposed to do, and
version with the 105mm cannon. Butthat is all to the good side of the
because of problems with the autoloaderequation. However, without added armor
it's IOC has been pushed back to 2008 orprotection that benefit is lost and also
2009. For the life of me I can notthe nonsense about making them air
figure out why the US Army does not buytransportable. No way with the added
some of those off the shelf 105mm twoarmor.
man conventional turrets (Cadillac GageMakes one think again that both
has them in production for exportLockheed-Martin and Boeing have missed
orders) and fit them to Stryker's forthe boat in not creating a successor to
Iraq till the overhead turret version isthe Herc, and why the A400M Airbus with
available.its superior payload capacity while
Yes, the TOW bunker buster is "somestill having the same take off and
what" filling that role (i.e. electricallanding requirements of a Herc will win
wires cause problems in urban warfare),the day in many purchases from NATO
but all the commanders say acountries.
conventional cannon is needed NOW. AndUnproven yes, but if it does succeed,
in fact the conventional turret 105mm isLM's lead in the medium military lift
much better for the type of warfare thatfield will be extinguished.



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