The London Free Press in Ontario has an interesting story: Its General Dynamics plant there -- which produces the Stryker vehicle, including ones headed to Fort Lewis -- is making London into a boomtown.

Thomas Donnelly, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, weighs the future of military vehicles in light of the gutting of the Future Combat Systems program.

Here's his opinion on the Stryker:

"At first glance, the Stryker looks like it might do better in modern warfare. An eight-wheeled vehicle, it has a more efficient engine and can move rapidly. But the Stryker lacks the off-road capability of a tracked vehicle like the Abrams or Bradley. Although it performed beyond expectations in Iraq -- and should as well in Afghanistan, where it is just being introduced -- it can only play a niche role, since its combat capabilities are limited."

Thoughts anyone?

The upcoming deployments of three Stryker brigades from Fort Lewis are sparking protests from the local anti-war community.

On Thursday afternoon, members of Port Militarization Resistance will be marching in downtown Tacoma to protest the use of the Port of Tacoma to ship Strykers to Afghanistan.

From a release: "Join us as we take back the streets of Tacoma this Thursday! To no one’s surprise the gears of the war-machine are still spinning after the election of Barack Obama. We must show the city of Tacoma that if they continue to allow the military to use their port we will continue to cost them money."

And at noon Saturday, a rally protesting the stop-loss policy will take place at the Freedom Bridge over Exit 122 on Interstate 5. The group Iraq Veterans Against the War will participate.

"We will assemble with soldier’s families and community groups to rally against the systematic mistreatment of soldiers by the Pentagon, which maintains stop-loss as a backdoor draft," said Seth Manzel, the director of the group that runs nearby Coffee Strong in Tillicum.

One of the Internet’s greatest achievements (and curses) is that it allows people to debate just about any topic and propose any solution, no matter how outta-left-field it might seem.

A Facebook group seems to exemplify this: More than 90 members have joined a group advocating sending a Stryker brigade to the Darfur region of western Sudan.

(If you need a crash course on Darfur, Wikipedia provides a comprehensive crash course on a topic.)

The group's three administrators all are soldiers (according to their profiles) and say they live in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Here’s what they advocate:

Did you ever occur to activists that throwing aid money and food will not make a problem go away? Well here is a solution. Send a Stryker Brigade Combat Team in and make zone of separation between the janjaweed militia and people of the Darfur region of the Sudan. Once this is established. Anyone entering the zone of seperation without authorization will be terminated. This will allow the activists to then come in and help rebuild Darfur in addition to helping them eventually provide for their own defense.

=> Read more!

UPDATE: I'm bumping this up because it's been a big talker, and I want to keep the conversation going.

A Stryker brigade could receive orders this month to deploy to Afghanistan, the Associated Press reports.

The story focuses on how the new Obama administration and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will handle increasing troop levels in Iraq. More Marines are expected to go, but the story makes it clear a Stryker brigade isn’t a certainty.

From the story: “Their challenge, however, is to get troops out into the hundreds of tiny villages in the volatile southern region, where the Taliban insurgency has been centered. To do that, Gen. David McKiernan, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has asked for more mobile forces and believes the Strykers will allow soldiers to move more easily along the rugged trails to the widely dispersed tribal enclaves.”

But, the story points out, "Army officials have concerns about how to free up the Stryker unit."

Two Fort Lewis Stryker brigades are scheduled to deploy to Iraq this year. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will leave in early- to mid-summer. 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division is expected to follow by summertime.

The use of Strykers in Afghanistan isn't totally new. The Canadians have used the LAV III, which has the same chassis as the Stryker, with success. And Fort Lewis' 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment have used them there -- but the typically mediaphobic unit won't discuss it.

We're interested in hearing your take. Have you served in Afghanistan and with a Stryker unit in Iraq? Are you one of the Rangers that have used the vehicle in Afghanistan? A Canadian soldier with experience in the LAV? Shoot me an e-mail.

Click below to read the full AP story.

=> Read more!

Apparently these Stryker vehicles are pretty handy: A Fort Benning-based brigade will use 30 of the medevac variety during a deployment to Iraq later this year.

As Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base take small, subtle steps toward reorganizing as a joint base, many soldiers, airmen and their families are logically asking: "What does this mean for me?"

As it turns out, there are some nice perks that come with joint basing. Like a free membership at any of the five Pierce County YMCA centers.

The YMCA of Tacoma-Pierce County announced Monday that up to 900 local military families are eligible for memberships at no cost starting this month.

In most military communities, the benefit is limited to families with a service member who is deployed for at least six months. The idea is to provide family-strengthening activities, wellness programs, respite child care and other services to these households at a time when they need it most.

“Families are the most affected when a loved one gets deployed, so we are deeply committed to providing them with support in spirit, mind and body," local YMCA Executive Vice President Michael Ketcham said in a news release.

That's great news for 81st Brigade National Guardsmen headed to the Mideast now, and a pair of Stryker infantry brigades likely headed to Iraq next year. Not so great for McChord personnel, whose deployments typically last 120 days.

Fortunately, the door is open even wider at a handful of military bases, including Lewis and McChord, that are being brought together under the Joint Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) umbrella. Active-duty service members and their families at these joint bases may be eligible for a free YMCA membership, regardless of deployment status.

The Department of Defense is underwriting the fees through a new “Outreach Initiative,” developed between the DOD and the Armed Services YMCA. It's in response to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which contains extra provisions for military family readiness.

Ketcham said about 1,600 individual soldiers already have enjoyed free membership at local YMCAs for the past few years. This expands it to entire families.

Those who are interested should take their completed DOD/YMCA eligibility form, their military ID and their deployment orders (if applicable) to their nearest participating YMCA.

In Pierce County, all the Y facilities (Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup and Gig Harbor) are participating.

Army Times has an article discussing funding for ongoing modernization programs of several programs, including the Stryker. (The story has info about improvements to the Bradley and information about the Future Combat Systems program.)

Among the variants to the Stryker is a prototype built with a trailer and crane to recover damaged vehicles -- even if a Stryker is "catastrophically destroyed." Another plan the Army wants full funding for is a nuclear, chemical and biological reconnaissance variant. And one upgrade apparently already being implemented is a Stryker with “an armor kit along the lower sides of the vehicles designed to stop deadly shaped charges such as explosively formed penetrates.”

“The Stryker modernization program will allow you to put more weight on the system. There is a hull protection kit, an armor package, that is being put on selective Strykers right now. It is on the lower part of the side. EFPs impact around the tire area,” the newspaper quotes U.S. Army Col. Christopher Lockhart, the capabilities manager for the Stryker for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.

It’s official: I Corps is heading to Iraq next year to take on day-to-day operations.

And the unit that runs Fort Lewis will have two familiar brigades under its command.

The Department of Defense announced the major units in its next rotation Tuesday, and joining I Corps will be the 3rd Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – both based at Fort Lewis. The announcement likely caught few people by surprise on post, where personnel have expected this decision.

A firm timetable hasn’t been set, but I Corps is expected to arrive in the winter. The two Stryker brigades will arrive during by summer; a more exact time or location hasn’t been determined because it’s not certain which units they will replace, I Corps spokeswoman Maj. Kathy Turner said.

With smaller units also expected to deploy, as many as 10,000 Fort Lewis personnel will be serving in Iraq next year, Turner said.

This will be I Corps’ first combat deployment since the Korean War. 3rd Brigade will make its third trip to Iraq, and this will be the first time 5th Brigade sees combat.

=> Read more!

Lakewood spokesman Jeff Brewster sent this e-mail regarding an event Thursday in honor of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division:

At 7 a.m., Thursday, September 11 at Burs Restaurant, representatives from the 4-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Lakewood’s 'Community Connection' to Fort Lewis, will provide an overview of their 15-month deployment to Iraq. Lakewood residents are encouraged to commemorate Patriot Day by attending in this presentation and learning more about the 4-2 SBCT’s historic deployment.

The 4-2 began returning to Fort Lewis in late May after a grueling extended tour of nearly 15 months in Iraq.

For those interested in attending Thursday's event, Burs Restaurant is located at 6151 Steilacoom Blvd. SW.

American soldiers fighting a counterinsurgency. The enemy using hit-and-run tactics. Troops struggling at times to determine who was an ally or an enemy.

But we’re not talking about Iraq. Try a century and a half earlier, when soldiers fought off attacks by Indians at Fort Steilacoom.

The similarities between the two conflicts drew 30 members of the 402nd Brigade Support Battalion, a unit of Fort Lewis’ 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, to the grounds of the old fort – today Western State Hospital in Lakewood – on Thursday.

“Believe it or not, the stuff they’re using here – counterguerilla tactics – is not much different,” said Lt. Col. Steve Allen. “It’s history, but we can take this and apply what we’ve learned here today to the conflicts we’re facing today.”

Thursday’s trip off post began with a tour of the grounds and talks about the history of the fort and the tactics the soldiers used to combat the Indians.

The blurred line between friend and foe resonated with Capt. John Louch.

“There are some examples of how they had to deal with not necessarily knowing who the enemy is,” he said. “Not all the Indians were enemies; many of them were friendly to them. You go over to Iraq, and it’s the exact same scenario.”

=> Read more!

The bulk of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division will be home Tuesday after some 800 soldiers from the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion 12th
Field Artillery Regiment and other units return to Fort Lewis in three plane loads, according to local Army post officials.

There are some 4,000 men and women in this Stryker Brigade, and most of them have flown home in the last few weeks after nearly 15 hard months in Iraq. But don't put the 4-2 out of your thoughts and prayers yet: A "trail party" of about 400 soldiers is mopping up and is expected to return to Fort Lewis later this month.

Family and friends will roll out the welcome wagon for a ceremony the post has scheduled at 4 p.m. Tuesday.