Back from war, Stryker vehicles get refit

The Associated Press

FORT LEWIS — After logging thousands of miles during their first two years in Iraq, the Army's Stryker vehicles are getting an overhaul before being sent back with soldiers.

The eight-wheeled, armored vehicles are being worked on by mechanics from General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., which made the Strykers and has a $69 million Army contract to restore them. Maintenance is taking place at this post south of Seattle and at a company yard in Auburn.

The Strykers arrived home by ship in late October. They were used for a year in Iraq by the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, then another year with their successors from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Average mileage across the fleet of roughly 285 vehicles is more than 20,000, officials said.

Maj. Robert Berg, who heads the Stryker acquisition and reset programs at Fort Lewis, said the vehicles have held up well.

General Motors Corp. and General Dynamics Corp., a defense contractor in Falls Church, Va., were awarded a $4 billion Army contract to produce 2,100 vehicles to serve six brigades — three of which are based at Fort Lewis.

The Strykers' addition to the Army in 2002 was criticized by some who said at $2 million each they were too expensive, too heavy and inferior to other vehicles.

However, they've been praised by senior generals and young privates alike for their speed, maneuverability, communications systems and the protection they provide from improvised explosive devices, a common weapon used by the insurgency in Iraq.

The most heavily damaged vehicles remain overseas, at General Dynamics' main repair facility in Qatar. About 50 company mechanics also traveled to Iraq with the Stryker brigades, performing routine maintenance and repairs.