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The 'first' in many ways

3rd Brigade reflags to the 1st-2nd Strykers

Col. Dave Foley retires the colors of the 3-2 “Arrowhead” Brigade as the unit reflag as the 1-2 “Ghost” Brigade. Photo credit: Kevin Knodell

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The Army retired the colors the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, then redesignated the unit the 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Tuesday.

Units reflag frequently. It's a part of the realities of force restructuring as the military grows and shrinks to meet demand. And as personnel and budget cuts loom large in the future, soldiers are likely to see more.

"Today's ceremony marks the continuation of a dynamic legacy for our Army," brigade commander Col. Dave Foley told the crowd in attendance.

But for many in the audience, this particular change was more emotional.

Some soldiers in the crowd silently wiped tears from their eyes. The 3-2 was the Army's first Stryker brigade, and was its most deployed. The brigade's granite memorial at Joint Base Lewis McChord lists the names of 146 soldiers who have died since 9/11. The Arrowhead brigade has strong emotions attached to it.

The Stryker was a controversial vehicle when the Army first adopted it. It was derived by the Canadian LAV III, itself a derivative of a Swiss design.

It was adopted as part of Objective Force, an ambitious transformation plan outlined in 1999 by then-Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki to bring the Army out of the Cold War and into the 21st century. The Stryker fit the bill for the plan's demands for a new armored personnel carrier, and General Dynamics received the contract in November 2000.

The 3-2 had been at Lewis since 1995 as an armored brigade and became the Guinea pigs for the new vehicles.

Though some experts have hotly debated the Stryker's combat effectiveness, most soldiers who have actually used them vigorously defend the platform. The eight-wheeled vehicles proved particularly well suited to urban combat as they patrolled Iraqi cities.

They moved relatively fast compared to cumbersome tracked personnel carriers of previous years, but offered more protection than Humvees. They also travelled quietly compared to many similar military vehicles. That's how the 1-2 got it's nickname "Ghost" Brigade, as Iraqis told soldiers the Strykers moved like ghosts at night.

The Strykers have become a hallmark of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and have seen heavy combat in both. They've become a key part of contemporary U.S. Army doctrine.

That's part of the reason why retiring the colors of the Army's first Stryker brigade has evoked such strong emotions in soldiers who served in, as well as the families of those who died under that banner. Soldiers and families have expressed their displeasure on social media.

Col. Foley said that he understands why it's stirred up some emotions, but he assured that the lineage of the 3-2 will live on in the soldiers that still remain, and that their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan won't be soon forgotten.

On the contrary, he insisted they're a vital part of what makes the unit what it is today.

"That's still a chapter of our story," Foley said. "You can't wipe that away."

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