Survivor of deadly Stryker plunge 'got air in his lungs, started praying'

[Barrett808]

Survivor of deadly Stryker plunge 'got air in his lungs, started praying'
By Hal Bernton and Ray Rivera
Seattle Times staff reporters

Army Pvt. Bryan Hall knew one thing: His life was not supposed to end this way.

Not by drowning. Not trapped inside an Army Stryker truck, which had flipped — upside down — into a rain-swollen irrigation ditch in Iraq.

Water began to pour into the vehicle, one of two Strykers that tumbled into the canal Monday night, Hall told his mother in a solemn phone call the next day.

Scared, crawling through the submerged, darkened vehicle, Hall said, he found a small pocket of air. Struggling and gasping, he yanked off his Kevlar helmet so he could cock his head and keep gulping air.

"He told me that he got air in his lungs and started praying," said Winnie O'Connor. "He said, 'This is not why I was sent here.' "

Two soldiers in one vehicle and one soldier in the other Stryker did not make it out alive, according to Master Sgt. Robert Cargie, an Army spokesman in Tikrit. It was not immediately clear how many of the Fort Lewis-based soldiers were in the two overturned Strykers.

(more)

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001812422_strykersurvivor11m0.html

[raifield]

1. Strykers already deployed?

I thought I read that Stryker brigades weren't being deployed until 2005 or somewhere around that time. Something to do with the vehicle being overweight and unstable in certain firing positions.

[htuttle]

2. They were sent over within the last few months

They had to go with anti-tank rockets instead of the main gun, due to their propensity for flipping over when firing to the side (ie., they could only fire straight forward). They are also very cramped inside, as in you can't reach into your pockets cramped, and the armor won't even stop an AK-47 round in some areas.

But other than that, they represent a very profitable contract, and should help sustain several corporations for years to come...

:eyes:

[midnight armadillo]

5. They're also too heavy

The original design spec called for them to be transportable via the C-130 Hercules.

The result is a vehicle that CAN be airlifted this way, with a range of like 30 miles, with very, very long runways needed, and only in good weather since it seriously strains the weight capacity of the C-130.

In other words, it's another weapons system like the F-22 that doesn't meet its requested specs...

[alcuno]

3. Two Strykers into a canal - not one.

After reading the article, I'm still trying to figure out why someone would enlist last February.

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. Overturning two Strykers

doesn't look like it would be hard to do at all. Also, weren't these the ones that didn't have very effective armor? I love the big fat tires on this thing hanging out there for all the world to see and shot at. My kid could design something better with his Legos.