Netcentric case study report

[Battlefront.com]

For those of you who are interested in the implications of "digital" units, like Stryker:

15 High Intensity Case Studies

Steve

[John Kettler]

Steve,

Looked promising, but came back "Page not found."

Regards,

John Kettler

[dumrox]

I think this is the link Steve meant to provide

[Battlefront.com]

Sorry, yeah. I was having a lot of problems with the URLs because I got to it through a portal. It butchered the URL.

Steve

[MikeyD]

I found this interesting bit of info buried in that link:

General Dynamics Land Systems... received a $69.1 million modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for "reset" of 265 M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles... ...Through this contract General Dynamics will service, repair and modify 265 Stryker vehicles returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom, restoring them to a pre-combat, like-new condition. These vehicles have been in service in Iraq since October 2003, supporting two 3,900-soldier Stryker Brigade Combat Team rotations and accumulating over 6 million miles.

I can't help but notice just 265 vehicles are mentioned, though I thought all 309-310 of first Stryker Brigade's vehicles had originally made the trip in-country in late '03. That implies 15% of the vehicles would be considered a write-off, though the Army has only admitted to 3-4 Strykers destroyed.

Perhaps I'm reading the report wrong. Maybe they really are only counting the M1126 troops carriers, and those missing 45 vehicles would be uncounted recon vehicles, ambulances, and TOW Strykers. Still, that's an odd way to word a press release.

I'm assuming if those Strykers are rotating out a new batch will be coming in, probably with the third Stryker Brigade soon to be sent into iraq (that's 3rd as in 1-2-3, not as in any official unit designation).

[flamingknives]

Perhaps some have not seen the use that others have, hence some are still out there?

[aka_tom_w]

Well...

here's one of them burned out stryker page

More knocked out equipment here:

web page

and

another web page

interesting wreckage shots

-tom w

[MikeyD]

That photo *might* be of the second 'official' K.O'd Stryker, burned-out in Mosul in early '04 when an RPG ignitied a petrol-filled jerrycan. The first K.O.'d Stryker, also burned-out, was a recon vehicle hit by an IED outside Samarra. Recon vehicles don't have a remote .50 cal mg 'Christmas tree on' the roof.

Interesting shot, though, of the SLAT package's spaced armor plate on the hull side, and what looks like adhesive where ceramic tiles had popped off in the inferno.

[Battlefront.com]

Mikey,

Perhaps I'm reading the report wrong. Maybe they really are only counting the M1126 troops carriers, and those missing 45 vehicles would be uncounted recon vehicles, ambulances, and TOW Strykers. Still, that's an odd way to word a press release.

That was the way I read it. Some of the vehicles in Iraq now weren't there 2 years ago, so there is probably no need to refurbish them.

Also keep in mind that these contracts are sometimes constrained by budgetary issues. For example, when you see authorizations for M1A1 refreshing the number of vehicles each time is a fraction f the existing inventory. Does that mean all the ones not covered by that one contract are "writeoffs"? No, it just means that the contract only covers x number of vehicles for whatever reason.

In short, I think it is wrong to conclude that if the contract's number indicates the balance are writeoffs.

Stee

[MikeyD]

Not that I'm in the loop on this stuff, but I'm not at all sure many replacement Strykers got shipped over. Vehicle counts in the press seemed to go from 309 to 308 to 307 as incidents happened. If I recall correctly (and I may not) a single Stryker may have been airlifted in as a replacement early on simply to prove it could be done. Shipping over new Strykers would be more of a logistical challenge than shipping over new Hummers.

I do agree though, since the contract specified M1126 that's probably the reason for the low vehicle count. Still, you sometimes have to read press releases like tea leaves to extract decent information from them.

On another topic, one article stated "...While he spoke favorably of the M113 Gavin..." The 'he' being referred to is Col. Robert Brown, commander of the 1-25th Stryker Brigade. My question is: They haven't REALLY named the old M113 APC the "Gavin", have they? :eek: :mad:

[ November 11, 2005, 08:38 AM: Message edited by: MikeyD ]