POGO Defense Critics Get A Stryker Surprise

Stryker ICV with
Anti-RPG Slat Armor
(click to view full)

The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) has been a defender of the A-10 and a vocal critic of many American weapons programs, from the C-130J, MV-22 Osprey, F-35 JSF and F/A-22 Raptor to the M1126 Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle currently deployed in northern Iraq.

Recently, however, two POGO staffers spent a day at Fort Lewis, WA with Stryker Armored Vehicle Brigade soldiers and officers, in order to gain insight into two recent reports by the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) that raised significant issues with the program. To their surprise, they found widespread approval among ground troops and officers using the vehicle, to the point where they’re now re-thinking their criticism and looking for answers. Kudos to POGO for having that honesty; the “digital ghosts” of the Stryker Brigades have demonstrated some real operational advantages. Vasiliy Fofanov’s US Armor in Operation “Iraqi Freedom” analysis in Moscow Defense Brief #1 offers a corroborating view; it was harder on the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley’s performance, and relatively positive about the Stryker.