Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Back on the subject of Strykers ...

Independent reporter Michael Yon has a great account of the career of a Stryker dubbed the "General Lee."

Superman

Route Tampa is the major supply route for Coalition forces in Iraq. Billions of dollars’ worth of gear and supplies are pumped up the northbound artery, while rumbling down the southbound vein back to Kuwait are damaged vehicles, units returning from a year or longer at war and convoys of empty trucks. Along the way, thousands of blue, black and clear plastic bags twirl, swirl and skitter in the hot dusty winds. The bags ramble about like so much plastic tumbleweed; aligning along the wind, drifting along the desert currents until they catch on nettles, concertina or the shards of wreckage. On those summer days so hot machines and bodies begin to falter, the air inside the bags is heated just a few degrees more, enough that some bags spontaneously buoy and drift away.

(MichaelYon-Online)

Apparently Yon likes the narrative-style lead.

It's a long story--recommended reading. It goes into the threat of IEDs, and includes anecdotal evidence supporting the relative durability of the Stryker.

Also embedded in the online account is a video of the "General Lee" taking an IED hit. The video was released as propaganda by the enemy.

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