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| Iraq |
| Army’s new Stryker vehicle has its first combat encounter |
| 2004-01-31 |
| The Army’s new Stryker vehicle had its first combat encounter with a rocket-propelled grenade Friday. The round struck the front of the vehicle above its slat armor cage, cutting a hose inside the engine compartment. The vehicle commander suffered a superficial cut near his nose, officials said. But the Fort Lewis crew was otherwise unhurt and drove the vehicle out of danger, their company commander and 1st sergeant said. Good design or good luck? Hope it’s the former. It was one of four RPG attacks on Strykers on Friday in Mosul. The other three rounds missed. It’s hard to be accurate when you start running before you fire. Soldiers throughout the brigade had figured it was only a matter of time before a Stryker was hit by an RPG, one of the most widely available anti-armor weapons in the world. Commanders said the attacks are proof that local insurgents are finished with merely observing the new vehicles moving about the city streets. More details at link. |
| Posted by:Gasse Katze |
| #1 The grenade was fired from close range - less than 300 feet... About a football field away? Is that what they consider "short" range? I'd have thought anything under 50 yds would be short range. |
| Posted by: Dar 2004-1-31 5:50:34 PM |