From TransFormaTion To CombaT The First stryker brigade at War

Bibliographical Note
Primary Sources
Material for this monograph came chiefly from records, reports, unit
histories, and documents generated during the events described herein.
The Stryker Brigade provided most of the material on its operations in
Iraq while TRADOC’s History Office provided significant material on
the certification process. Capt. Curt I. Rowland, Jr., of the 5th Battalion,
20th Infantry, assembled a useful unit history immediately upon his return
to Fort Lewis in November 2004. Capt. Sarah K. Soja complemented his
efforts by composing a brigade-level summary of events in late 2005.
Interviews and Reviews
The monograph relied heavily on a series of interviews the Center of
Military History conducted at Fort Lewis in March 2005. It also benefited
from the reviews of soldiers who served with or alongside the Strykers
at echelons from company to division and higher. Their insights were
essential to the telling of the operational story.
Other Sources
The internet proved an exceptionally useful resource where coalition
military operations in Iraq were concerned. Although primary
sources are preferable, some internet sites showed that they could “fill
in the blanks” or provide Army historians with access to small but
critical nuggets of information. The Stryker Brigade News web page
(http://www.strykernews.com) in particular was a very useful reference
tool.
The local community at Fort Lewis, Washington, had a special affinity
for the Stryker soldiers. Although a number of news correspondents
gravitated to the brigade while it served in Iraq, the most valuable media
resource for this monograph was Tacoma’s The News Tribune. The paper
chronicled the conversion from Abrams/Bradley to Stryker, followed the
entire certification process, and sent a reporter to Kuwait and Iraq when
the unit deployed.
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