The Stryker Brigade Combat Team: A Balance of Power and Mobility
In the vast spectrum of military force structures, the U.S. Army’s Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) stands out as a unique blend of mobility, firepower, and flexibility. It is a medium force that focuses on intra-theater mobility, delivering massed infantry forces with decent fire support. The SBCT is one of three types of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), the basic deployable maneuver unit of the U.S. Army.
The SBCT’s infantry battalions are organically motorized by 8x8 Stryker Infantry Carriers, offering superior mounted mobility and firepower when compared to lighter Infantry BCTs. Yet, it maintains a lighter logistical burden and greater deployability when compared to the heavier Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs).
The SBCT’s structure includes a headquarters and headquarters company, three Stryker infantry battalions, a cavalry squadron providing reconnaissance and fire support, a field artillery battalion, a brigade engineering battalion, and a brigade support battalion. Each infantry battalion has a headquarters and headquarters company and three rifle companies. These rifle companies are the close combat elements of the infantry battalion, consisting of a headquarters section, three rifle platoons, a mortar section, and habitual attachments.
The Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) is a key component of the SBCT. It is capable of ferrying an entire infantry squad and more equipment in a single vehicle. The ICV is armed with either an M250 cal heavy machine gun or a Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher on a remote weapon system. However, the Army intends to equip each rifle platoon with two Stryker Dragoons armed with a 30mm auto cannon in the future.
The Stryker Dragoon is not intended to be a wheeled equivalent to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. It does, however, give the Stryker unit more options during chance contact with mechanized forces, particularly when facing light armored vehicles such as the BMP or BTR, where the 50 cal alone would be an unreliable counter.
The Stryker units provide a number of advantages over light and mechanized infantry but also have a number of limitations. They are capable of faster and more independent moves than light infantry, with better protection and firepower. They are also superior in strategic mobility to ABCTs, making them a middle ground unit that can be deployed faster than armored forces and with greater firepower and protection than light infantry.
However, Strykers have clear limitations when compared to the ABCTs. Unlike Bradleys, the Stryker cannot reliably fight through to the objective when facing a peer foe with heavy weapons. They are not reliable tank killers without dismounted support. Strykers have to use terrain to stay out of range or sight of enemy anti-tank systems until the infantry assault.
In conclusion, the Stryker Brigade Combat Team is a unique blend of mobility, firepower, and flexibility. It is not a worse Bradley on wheels, nor is the Stryker MGS a tank stand-in. These medium units provide the U.S. Army with a particular capability that, when employed appropriately, can be superior to the behemoths with big sticks. The Stryker units are superior for mission sets where masked infantry is key, including defense and movement through restricted terrain or urban environments. They are a testament to the U.S. Army’s commitment to adaptability and versatility, providing a balanced solution to the ever-changing demands of modern warfare.
