3 Soldiers from Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade killed in Iraq

By Hal Bernton

Seattle Times staff reporter

Three Soldiers from the Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade died last

night in northern Iraq when the collapse of a roadside embankment

sent two of their vehicles tumbling into an irrigation canal,

according to Army officials.

It's a sober start for the brigade that arrived in Iraq only a few

days ago for a 12-month tour of duty with its armored, eight-wheeled

Stryker vehicles. These are the first new Army fighting vehicles in

20 years and have been assigned to combat patrols north of Baghdad,

where the insurgency movement is strongest.

The accident occurred as two of the Stryker vehicles were on combat

patrol near the town of Ad Duluiyah north of Baghdad, according to

Master Sgt. Robert Cargie, an Army spokesman reached yesterday in

Iraq. It has been raining in recent days, and as the vehicles drove

along a rural road, the embankment gave way. The vehicles then rolled

into the canal.

An injured Solider was sent to a combat-support hospital in the town

of Balad. The names of the dead Soldiers are being withheld pending

notification of families, Cargie said.

Both of the vehicles were recovered, and the Army will investigate

the cause of the incident, he said.

Each Stryker vehicle can carry up to 11 Soldiers and is designed to

operate at top speeds of more than 60 miles per hour. The Fort Lewis

brigade is built around 309 Strykers, which are outfitted with high-

tech computers to help scout the enemy and communicate among units.

They are intended to offer more protection than Humvees and trucks,

yet be quicker - and easier to ship to battle - than tanks. Army

officials are planning to spend at least $9 billion to outfit six

brigades with the Strykers and see them as a possible stepping stone

for the force of the future.

The Fort Lewis 3rd Brigade 2nd Division is the first to be certified

for combat. The brigade and associated unit totaling some 5,000

Soldiers arrived in Kuwait last month, along with the Strykers and a

complement of Humvees, trucks and other vehicles.

At the end of its stay in Kuwait, the brigade unit experienced two

setbacks.

Nov. 29, a female Soldier reported she was raped near a shower

trailer. That report is now under investigation by Army officials.

Friday, two Soldiers still in Kuwait were wounded before dawn when a

40 mm grenade from a MK19 automatic grenade launcher apparently

misfired in the weapon.

The Soldiers, who have not been identified, were replacing a .50-

caliber machine gun atop a Stryker vehicle with the MK19 when the

accident occurred. One Soldier suffered a cut on his thigh; the other

suffered a shrapnel wound just above his left knee and was sent to

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

The Soldiers were part of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry regiment.

The commander of the unit, Lt. Col. Karl Reed, yesterday ordered all

Soldiers to undergo a refresher on safety-certification training on

the .50-caliber machine gun and the MK19.

"We got lucky," he said. "We are lucky we are not burying two

Soldiers."

By the time the Strykers left Kuwait, all of the vehicles were

fortified with an extra layer of armor, a steel cage intended to

offer additional protection against insurgents armed with powerful,

shoulder-fired grenade launchers. This armor has added more than

5,000 pounds of additional weight and turned the Strykers into a

wider and less nimble vehicle.

But their initial movement into Iraq went well, rolling some 500

miles to arrive at their new base north of Baghdad, according to

Reed.

Matthew Cox of Army Times and Seattle Times staff reporter Nguyen Huy

Vu contributed to this report. Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or

hbernton@seattletimes.com