Stryker’s bulk limits
prop-plane transport
A new government report says that the Stryker combat vehicle still has weight problems that could affect its ability to be quickly mobilized.
Schofield Barracks cleared the final environmental hurdle last month in converting the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade to a 3,600-man Stryker unit in February.
On Thursday, Hickam officials will hold a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the official beginning of the first C-17 jet cargo transport squadron outside of the mainland, considered to be a vital link in transporting the 25th Division's Stryker unit.
A 40-page report by the Government Accountability Office -- the watchdog arm of Congress -- deals with the ability of Air Force C-130 propellor cargo planes to meet the original goal of transporting the Stryker 1,000 miles fully loaded for combat.
Last year, the GAO reiterated an earlier Air Force-sponsored report that the Army cannot achieve its goal of deploying a Stryker brigade anywhere in the world within four days. Since the last GAO report was issued, the Army has dropped any reference to C-130 transport of 1,000 miles.
The report said Army officials acknowledge the "significant challenges and limitations" in meeting the transportation goals set for the Strykers. But the Army believes the capability of transporting even over short distances offers commanders on the battlefield additional options, including the use of C-17 jet transports, sealift or driving them over land, to reach their objectives.
The C-17 unit at Hickam would be composed of 140 active Air Force and Hawaii Air National Guard personnel. The first of eight 174-foot C-17s is expected to arrive in February.
The 19-ton Stryker vehicles will start arriving at Schofield Barracks in the summer of 2006 and the unit should be operational in 2007.
The GAO report said the Army's operational requirement was that Strykers were supposed to be transportable by four-engine C-130 propellor-drive cargo transports for short-range operations.
The GAO report said that the Stryker weighs 19 tons, which means that the maximum range for the C-130 would be 860 miles. However, if 2,000 pounds were added to the Stryker for mission equipment or ammunition, the C-130's range would be reduced to only 500 miles.
"Furthermore, a C-130 with a 38,000 pound (19 ton) Stryker vehicle on board would not be able to take off at all locations in higher altitudes, such as Afghanistan, during daytime in the summer," the report said.
If the Stryker was outfitted for increased protection against weapons such as rocket propelled grenades it could not fit inside a C-130 and the added weight of the armor would make it too heavy for the C-130 to take off.
The report said because a C-130's range is limited by weight , a tactical operation could necessitate moving much of the mission's equipment, ammunition, fuel, personnel and armor on separate aircraft. That would increase the force deployment time and delay the time needed to start the military mission -- a key operational requirement and expectation.
www.gao.gov/
