The commander of Ft. Wainwright Stryker Brigade is expressing condolences for soldiers killed and injured in Afghanistan, but says the unit is making progress. Colonel Todd Wood spoke with reporters via teleconference from Afghanistan yesterday. The press conference followed news of another Stryker soldier death, the 12th to be killed since the 4,000 member unit deployed in April. Colonel Wood says despite the losses, brigade morale remains strong.
Wood says the Strykers have moved from Zabul Province to Kandahar Province since arriving in southern Afghanistan. They are nearing the end of the summer fighting season in a rural agricultural region. Wood says Taliban fighters do not engage Stryker soldiers and their Afghan counterparts in battle, and rely instead on IED attacks.
Other IEDs blow up when driven over by vehicles. The explosions have taken a deadly toll on the Stryker Brigade but Wood says many incidents have been averted.
Wood says the Stryker’s mission is security focused and involves working alongside and training Afghan Army and police, both of which have taken on more leadership in preparation for the drawdown of U.S. forces.
Listen for the full story
Download Audio (MP3)
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
