CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM A Stryker military combat vehicle dwarfed a regular-size car on the H-2 yesterday as it headed home to Schofield Barracks. An Army supply vessel delivered the vehicles to Waipio Point yesterday morning. The Strykers have been training on the Big Island. CLICK FOR LARGE

Stryker team readies for long tour

It will be a busy summer for the nearly 4,000-member 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team as it prepares for a yearlong Iraq deployment beginning in December.

The more than 650 soldiers belonging to Schofield Barracks' "Golden Dragons" battalion were the last combat team members yesterday to complete a nearly monthlong training rotation at the Big Island's Pohakuloa Training Area.

The 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, received all 59 of its 19-ton, eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles 2 1/2 months ago.

In two weeks the brigade will participate in its final exercise at Schofield Barracks.

Maj. Jim Craig, executive officer for the 1st Battalion, said following the weeklong exercise his soldiers will go on a 10-day leave starting with the Fourth of July holiday.

Then they will begin packing for a two-month tour at the National Training Center in Southern California's Mojave Desert.

That rotation will include a final certification ensuring that the entire Stryker brigade is ready for an Iraq deployment that could last up to 15 months.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM A convoy of Stryker military combat vehicles cruised down the H-2 freeway yesterday en route to Schofield Barracks. The Strykers, which have been used in training on the Big Island, arrived on Oahu yesterday. CLICK FOR LARGE

"We were able to do three different live-fire scenarios there that we are unable to do on Oahu," Craig said.

Even the convoy movement on the 45-mile trek on the Saddle Road to and from Kawaihae Harbor was instructional, he added. "Nowhere else can we do such movements here. The next time we do that will be in theater (Iraq)."

Small mechanical problems with the Strykers or other vehicles added realism to the convoy movement, he said. "All in all, it was a great training event for our battalion."

The 13 Strykers and 25 smaller trucks and vans were squeezed into the Army's 273-foot transport vessel Harold Clinger. There were only inches to spare between the parked vehicles on the Clinger's 9,000-square-foot cargo deck.

The Clinger is one of three Army vessels stationed at the Navy's Alpha docks in Hickam Air Force Base. However, with one of the vessels in a West Coast shipyard for repairs and the third still awaiting certification, the demand for the Clinger has been heavy, said Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Deck, the vessel's chief mate and executive officer. "But that is what we do."

Since January the Clinger has been at sea for 72 days.

Deck said it takes about 14 hours to sail from Pearl Harbor to Kawaihae.

In most instances its cargo has been ammunition and troops.

Yesterday, it took less than 30 minutes to empty the cargo deck of the Clinger after it was driven up to the shoreline at Waipio Point. The 38 vehicles were split into three groups and escorted by police to Schofield Barracks.

On May 31 the Golden Dragons will welcome a new commanding officer, Lt. Col. Thomas Boccadi, who is relieving Lt. Col. Robert Mundell. Four of the brigade's other five battalions will also get new leadership.

On June 27 the brigade will get a new commander, Col. Todd McCaffrey, who will replace Col. Stefan Banach.