From TransFormaTion To CombaT The First stryker brigade at War

ight front; then the entire intersection erupted in small-arms and RPG
fire. Passing through the ambush, the convoy returned fire but kept moving
only to encounter a roadblock of fifty-gallon drums and tires on the
southbound lanes of the highway.
Nystrom immediately ordered the lead vehicles to cross the median
and continue south. As the first Stryker did so, either an RPG or roadside
bomb hit it on the left. The vehicle continued moving out of the
kill zone, but moments later a large explosion occurred at an intersection
immediately to its rear, disabling two of the HETS the Stryker was
escorting. Lieutenant Nystrom issued instructions for all Strykers in the
convoy to converge on the intersection to recover equipment from the
disabled vehicles and to prevent their crews from falling into insurgent
hands. The lead Stryker returned to the intersection, engaging targets on
the way until it reached the scene. Other Strykers dispersed throughout
the convoy raced toward the intersection as well. The rest of the convoy
continued moving along Highway 2.
When Nystrom reached the scene of the fight, he ordered his infantrymen
to dismount their Strykers and to begin searching for the soldiers
from the disabled transports. He later learned that the convoy had already
rescued the men as it passed, but at the time Nystrom had no idea whether
insurgents had snatched the missing personnel or if they were fighting
dismounted somewhere.
The Strykers remained in place for forty-five minutes, until the
Brigade Quick Reaction Force reached the scene. During that time, the
enemy fired from thirty to forty RPGs at them, but none of the missiles
penetrated their slat armor. The volume of incoming fire continued to
grow. Sensing that the enemy had begun maneuvering closer in an attempt
to tie down his force by destroying a Stryker, Nystrom instructed
his platoon to relocate its vehicles in a manner that would make them
more difficult to hit. The Strykers increased their rates of fire and began
periodic shifts to new positions.
The reaction force, a company from the 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry,
arrived shortly thereafter and came immediately under fire. The engagement
continued for six hours, until both damaged vehicles were recovered
and all personnel accounted for. Friendly forces suffered twelve
wounded. Estimates placed enemy losses at more than fifty killed and
an undetermined number of wounded. American patrols passing through
that area were discovering the bodies of anticoalition fighters for days
following the battle.
Despite heavy casualties in the battle against Nystrom’s platoon, the
insurgents decided to continue engaging coalition forces in open combat.
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