The 5th Stryker Brigade is in position in Spin Boldak roughly 63 miles south of Kandahar. I found this out reading Alex Horton's blog, Army of Dude. Alex is a former member of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) and a veteran of the Iraq war. He is currently studying journalism in Texas and is a brilliant writer.
This will be great news for the over stretched Canadian Army as Spin Boldak has been part of their responsibility since 2007. The 103-km Kandahar-Spin Boldak highway is one of the most important highways in Afghanistan. Canada is funding the construction of a 42-km segment that remains to be completed. The area has been the site of recent increase in Taliban attacks most commonly with IED's.
As Alex points out: "It's a town about five miles from the Durand Line and the second major entry point for Afghanistan and Pakistan. This location might be an indicator of 5th Brigade's mission in the coming months."
The Stryker is a variant of the Canadian Forces LAV III and has proven to be very effective in Iraq. Khandahar province is the right terrain for the 5-2 SBCT as it is mostly desert. They can expect to see action very soon. I wish them well.
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9 comments:
My fiance is in a part of the Stryker unit. I found out they are in Spin Boldak from a picture taken by the A.P. It's interesting what info you can find if you look hard enough. Thanks for the post!
why didnt your fiance tell you before he left?.... My husband is in the 5th stryker brigade and i knew befor they left.
My son is on 4th deployment the first in Afghanistan. The area is very primitive as he says "Afghanistan makes Iraq look like a mecca of progress". Not good news. I run Packages From Home a charity for the troops. PFH will send the strykers as many of the basics as possible. Do your part by shipping your loved ones packages. Remember to write and send pictures they need to know we love them and they are never forgotten. God Bless them all and a big HOOAH!
My Husband is in 8-1 CAV, 5-2. They are in Spin and so far seen a lot of action since they arrived about 2 weeks ago. I new in Jan. he was headed there. There is tons of info out there on 5/2 and if you join the FRG site they will keep you posted on everything. Oh and another good site is stripes.com. And yes do send them many things, thoughtful things. I send something at least once a week and always make sure it smells of my perfume for my husband. Always keep them in your prayers. God Bless all the Service members and there Families.
SAI- my husband is also in 5/2 CAV 8-2. We were talking on the phone the other morning (night there) as he watched the fires burn on the Pakistani boarder. honestly, i don't know much about what my husband does. i'm pretty sure he only tells me the "good" parts. lol. anyway, hi!
Anna- Yea My husband is the medical platoon sergeant. Yea I like to stay posted on everything going on over there. Another way to stay up to date with things with 5/2, I don't know if you are on Facebook, but there is a page dedicated to Stryker brigades. it's called Stryker Brigade News. Well, take care and may God bless you and your husbadn and keep him safe over there.
My son is also with the 5/2 Stryker unit he has been there since July. I agree please send letters and care packages as often as you can they sometimes feel forgotten. Please pray for all military and let's bring them home.
SAI.... Tell your husband I'll see him soon... I am leaving for Afghanistan in X# of days (of course I am not gonna post it online! LoL) but I am a medic for 5/2 assigned recently to 8/1.... is there anything special I should bring / leave??? please let me know ASAP as X is QUICKLY diminishing!
Young, Jerry 68w
Don't want to upset anyone, but I too am now at the "SPIN" FOB. Action? yeah right. Coming from Helmund province, FOB RamRod, Price, etc. Spin is a complete joke. 8-1 CAV is chilling, and there honestly isn't much happening. All of the action is far from this part of the Pakistan border, so this should ease family members' minds. This is the safest place that I have lived throughout all of my deployments, and by far the most boring. God Bless.
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