Prometheus 6

Stryker brigade first to take Land Warrior to Iraq
By Matthew Cox
staff writer

Stryker brigade soldiers will deploy to Iraq next year with a wearable computer designed to cut through the fog of war. See the 360-degree tour.

The 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division — the Army’s 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team — recently completed a successful test of the Land Warrior system at Fort Lewis, Wash., which clears the way for the unit to take the high-tech ensemble of digital communications and navigation equipment with them on their scheduled deployment to Iraq next summer, said Lt. Col. Bill Prior, battalion commander, in a recent press release.

Another unit will be selected to participate in the operational tests with Land Warrior, which are scheduled to take about four months. If all goes well, the goal will be to go into full-rate production and “do the best we can to equip a brigade” by late 2008, said Lt. Col. Brian Cummings, product manager for Land Warrior.

Army officials are hoping to go into low-rate production in March and begin operational tests in January 2008, Hanson said.

Land Warrior is not in its final form, but Hansen said he believes the benefits to the soldier outweigh the risks of sending the system into combat with 4-9. “We don’t make these decisions lightly,” he said, describing how program officials will continue to ensure Land Warrior performs the way 4-9 needs it to during their deployment.