Army hopes to improve life for soldiers in Alaska by ditching Strykers that don’t work in the cold

Troopers in Alaska might be saying goodbye to Arctic-challenged Stryker automobiles, in a transfer that service leaders hope will enhance their day-to-day lives — and by extension, the lives of their households. 

The Military introduced this week that the first Stryker Brigade Fight Staff, twenty fifth Infantry Division, can be redesignated as the first Infantry Brigade Fight Staff, eleventh Airborne Division. The change is a part of the Military’s reactivation of the division, which unites troopers from two brigades beforehand with the twenty fifth Infantry Division primarily based in Hawaii, and U.S. Military Alaska.

The division, which has been deactivated since 1965, might be on the heart of the Military’s arctic technique, waiting for a doable battle with Russia and China. The Strykers are one change coming to troopers in Alaska, which based on Army.com, who first reported the information, have been “no good within the frigid and snowy Arctic circumstances.” 

Certainly, throughout a roundtable with Sgt. Maj. of the Military Michael Grinston on Monday, division Command Sgt. Maj. Vern Daley stated the automobiles are “not well-suited for the Arctic atmosphere, they’re very troublesome to keep up, they haven’t been very cellular in that atmosphere. And the flexibility for 1-11 now to have the ability to deal with their gentle infantry duties and never have to fret concerning the upkeep and the headache that they’ve had.” 

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It’s unclear the place the Strykers might be going, although Military Secretary Christine Wormuth lately stated in the event that they aren’t used elsewhere within the drive they’ll be scrapped for elements. However leaders hope that by eliminating the Strykers, troopers and their households — might be happier, which can create a extra constructive local weather and tradition. And making a constructive local weather in Alaska has been a high precedence for the Military, as items within the area have been dealing with rising suicide charges. 

Through the roundtable on Monday, Grinston recalled “casually” mentioning the concept of eliminating the Strykers in Alaska a number of months in the past whereas he was at Fort Knox, Kentucky. “I bought a spherical of applause,” he stated.

When a soldier is spending all their time engaged on automobiles that don’t have any likelihood of success in that atmosphere anyway, that stress bleeds into their house and household life, Grinston stated. It creates a slippery slope which might result in their partner or family members leaving as a result of they’re “by no means house anyway,” which in flip might result in the soldier ingesting extra or spending extra time alone. 

“I can actually see this as eliminating these Strykers is actually assist for resiliency,” Grinston stated.

Alaska has been a main level of concern for Military leaders over time, because the variety of suicides has been on the rise. In 2021, the variety of troopers who died by suicide was double that of the earlier yr, setting off alarm bells within the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. In April this yr, lawmakers urged Military Secretary Christine Wormuth in a letter to do extra to deal with the rise in suicide in Alaska. 

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) wrote that his state has “horrifically excessive charges of army suicide.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) agreed, calling out the “troubling” pattern of suicides in Alaska in comparison with different army communities. 

“I’ve heard firsthand from so many servicemen and ladies in Alaska concerning the challenges they face — from bodily and psychological trauma, isolation, to seasonal despair,” Murkowski stated. “We have to do all the pieces in our energy to show this tide and be there for our service members — to get them the right assist they want so suicide is rarely the reply.” 

The Military has poured assets into Alaska to offer extra entry to psychological well being care and even made small modifications like offering vitamin D tablets and preserving the gyms open longer. However service leaders additionally hope that the activation of the eleventh Airborne Division in Alaska contributes to constructive change by giving the roughly 12,000 troopers an id to carry onto.

“Arctic warfighting is not only what they do, it’s actually who they’re,” Military Chief of Workers Gen. James McConville instructed reporters on Monday. “And that’s the id these nice troopers are going to have within the eleventh Airborne Division.” 

However leaders additionally see the change with the Stryker brigade as a constructive step in making life simpler for troopers. Throughout a visit to Alaska this spring, Army.com reported {that a} coaching train was delayed as a result of the Strykers had damaged down on the best way to the coaching website. One mechanic instructed Army.com that the automobiles have been “meant for the desert,” however out in Alaska, they “simply freeze.” And it’s not simply the challenges troopers have been having with them, however the cash the Military was spending making an attempt to keep up them. 

Daley talked about on Monday the “unbelievable sum of money the Military has needed to pour in” to amenities and heating shelters, all in an try and get the Strykers operational. And Grinston stated that if a soldier is spending “a particularly lengthy period of time at work making an attempt to repair a automobile that doesn’t function within the chilly,” it can frustrate their household who’s seeing them much less. And when that soldier returns to work and goes out into the sphere, solely to have the automobile they’ve spent a lot time making an attempt to keep up break down once more, that frustration will solely worsen.

“Overwhelmingly,” Daley stated, “there may be a number of reduction in having the Strykers transfer out.” 

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