Army gets ready to farm out Stryker war-game exercise

The Army is set to employ the services of a new ally in its efforts to train troops headed to Iraq.

Although civilians, these friends of the military are certain not to spill the beans about their mission, unless, of course, you happen to be a sheep whisperer.

Next month, a group of Fort Lewis-based soldiers will arrive at the Ewe-topia farm in Roy, Pierce County, to conduct what they call Search and Sensitive Site Exploitation. In police jargon, it's like a crime-scene investigation, an Army captain explained to Linda Leeman, co-owner of Ewe-topia Herddog Training, a 10-acre business that teaches dogs to corral sheep and ducks, among other tricks.

A spokesman for Fort Lewis said it was unusual for the Army to go off-base for war-game exercises. After all, Fort Lewis recently completed Leschi Town, an $18.5 million urban-combat center with more than 52 structures, including a five-story office building and an outlying farm.

But Ewe-topia has something Leschi Town doesn't: more than 70 live sheep.

For soldiers who have never been around farm animals, the Dec. 1 training exercise offers a chance to improve their husbandry skills, the Army told Leeman.

"With the new leaders we now have in the company and the fact that we will imminently return to Iraq, it is essential that we conduct this training in an environment [that] accurately reflects the complexity of the terrain in Iraq," Capt. Theodore Kleisner wrote in a letter to Leeman.

Kleisner is company commander with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, which is scheduled to return to Iraq next year. It served a yearlong deployment from October 2003 to November 2004.

Besides the sheep, Ewe-topia also has about 100 ducks and three dogs, along with its canine guests in the boarding kennels.

Leeman and her partner, Joe Kapelos, were once termed "herding-dog trainers extraordinaire."

Leeman said the soldiers will learn valuable farmyard lessons, such as: If a gate is closed, leave it closed. If it's open, leave it open, even if you think you might be doing the farmer a favor by closing it. Animals need to be able to move from field to field, Leeman explained.

The 30 soldiers and two military working dogs will arrive at the farm in eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles.

The men will search the animal pens and fields for hidden plastic weapons and fake mines. War-games planners also will plant computers, cellphones and propaganda material.

The soldiers will carry guns but won't fire any blank or real ammunition.

Leeman and Kapelos will get to play Iraqi peasants, although, to be realistic, they may have to remove the We Support Our Troops signs, at least during the drill.

And when the day is over, the Army will offer tours of the Stryker vehicles and authorize the use of Stryker photographs in Ewe-topia promotions.

Leeman said she was thinking of Christmas cards this year with the Ewe-topia staff and a few sheep sitting around a Stryker with the caption: "Protecting Our Flock."

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com