FORT CARSON, Colorado –Leaders with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division conducted the New Leaders Orientation course (NLO) facilitated by the Stryker Warfighter Forum (SWfF) July 20-22 at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The conference covered a wide range of topics to include fielding timelines, capabilities of the different variants of Stryker, logistics planning requirements of an SBCT and maintenance programs that will enable the success of the brigade as they continue their transition from an infantry brigade combat team to an SBCT.
“It is crucial that Leaders and Soldiers understand everything that they can about the Stryker because it's not your normal truck,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richmond Minton, Logistics Officer, with Stryker Warfighters’ Forum based in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. “If they don't maintain this vehicle properly then it will fail them when they least expect it. They need to understand how this vehicle can be used to transport and support a nine Soldier infantry squad or the optics it has that can aid a scout observation post in detecting a threat.”
2SBCT began receiving Stryker combat vehicles on June 1 and officially reflagged to a Stryker formation on June 15. Their transition will be an ongoing process with the last Strykers being signed to the brigade in April 2021. The brigade has to build new systems and procedures on how to train, sustain, and maintain their new equipment in order to maximize their readiness for war during the transition period.
The Warhorse Brigade is the first conventional unit in the U.S. Army to receive the new ‘Double V Hull’ model Strykers called DVHA1. It is designed to return some of the mobility that the Stryker lost in the DVH models.
The Soldiers’ feedback on the performance of the vehicle will affect future changes and modifications both to the vehicle and the structure of SBCTs across the Army.
SWfF outlined years of tactics, techniques and procedures gathered by Stryker brigade combat teams across the U.S. Army to aid Warhorse leaders in developing a new culture of excellence based on their new combat vehicle platform. Leaders engaged in dialogue with the SWfF and shared experiences from deployments and combat training centers (CTC) in order to create a common operating picture within the formation.
The training event concluded with a hands-on demonstration of the new preventative maintenance checks and services (PMCS) tablets that are issued with each Stryker. The tablets hold all of the manuals associated to that Stryker and its equipment. The tablet’s design assists Soldiers conducting maintenance on their vehicle, and even has a library of “how-to” videos that demonstrate several maintenance and recovery procedures.
The Soldiers and leaders of the Warhorse Brigade gleaned vast amounts of knowledge and organizational products from NLO that will greatly improve 2SBCT’s ability to overcome any challenges in the future.
“We greatly appreciate the time and effort that the members of the SWfF and the Offices of the Army Capability Manger, Chief of Armor, and Chief of Infantry dedicated to educating the Warhorse Brigade on the strengths of the Stryker platform,” said Col. Scott Knight, brigade commander, 2SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “The incredible knowledge and expertise they shared with us will ease our conversion and make our formation more lethal on the battlefield.”
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