Army Transformation Experiment 2002, small part of Millennium Challenge 2002, Joint Forces Command exercise July 24 to Aug 15.

800-plus paratroopers of a battalion task force, 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division seized an airstrip.

14 Strykers from A Company, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division streamed in immediately behind the airborne task force.

The Stryker company was not allowed to cross the line of departure before airstrikes had destoryed enemy tanks. The remaining OPFOR consisted of BMP-2s and BRDMs.

A 110-kilometer movement was conducted without lossing any Stryers or refueling.
"If an Abrams tank unit conducted a six-hour move towards an objective, it would have to stop and refuel before attacking." (per Major Paul Calvert)

The Stryker company conducted three night engagements.

1. seized a weapons of mass effects site, lost two or three vehicles.
2. seized a theater ballistic-missile launcher, lost five vehicles.
3. seized a command-and-control position with 2 BMP-2s, 2 BRDMs and 15 soldiers, no vehicles lost.

7 or 8 vehicles out of 14 lost during three opeartions?

I found the following quote interesting. By a Major Paul Calvert, OPFOR's operations officer.

"It's probably one of the most mobile vehicles we've seen here. Traditionally the most agile vehicles in the maneuver "box" at NTC are the Humvees of the post's observer-controllers, who monitor the battles and mentor the leaders at every level of the units who come here to train. That doggone Stryker could go anywhere an OC could go, and could do it more quickly. Far from hindering the Stryker's mobility, its wheels actually give it an edge over tracked systems. I saw Strykers going some places that I hadn't seen mech companies go before. That was probably the single most impressive thing I saw about the Stryker - its ability to move in really crappy terrain."

Pfc. Shawn Harper, a driver, said they got the vehicle up to 64 miles per hour during a day light test drive. During the (night) missions, he drove at 40 miles per hour, using the thermal night vision sights.

AFV engagment technique started out with stopping the vehicle, waiting for the ramp to go down and unstrapping the Javelins, dismount, find cover and reacquire the targets. The infantry found it was better for the Javelin gunners to stand up in the hatchs, each one scanning their side of the vehicle, and engage as soon as the vehicle had stopped.

A comment about the road march
Per Sgt. Steven Schneider, "You get very sore, it's pretty cramped in there. It's not the most comfortable ride, but it's better than walking."