It’s looking more likely that Joint Base Lewis-McChord will have thousands of soldiers from two Stryker brigades deployed in Afghanistan at the same time, though the Army has not made it official.
The 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division spent the past month training in the California desert with an eye on a possible deployment to Afghanistan, according to Army reports from its exercises.
Brigade commander Col. Barry Huggins went so far as to act out a ceremony marking the completion of a civil affairs project that would benefit Afghans. An Afghan flag fluttered above the exercise as Huggins depicted the pomp that would follow a bridge opening, the Army reported.
“A man with seven sons gave seven sticks to his sons and told them to break them. They broke them,” Huggins said. “He gave his sons another stick and said, ‘bind them together and they will never be broken, as today we stand together, we will not be broken.”’
Huggins’ brigade has not received an official order from the Pentagon for a deployment to Afghanistan.
However, Lewis-McChord’s 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division has gotten its orders, and most of its soldiers are expected to leave next month for a yearlong tour in Afghanistan.
Huggins is shaping the troops of the 2nd Brigade to view themselves as protectors.
“I want our soldiers to understand they are men of honor,” Huggins said in early November when the brigade reached the National Training Center. “I want them to stay true to their values. I want them to have faith and confidence in themselves, their equipment and their leaders.”
The brigade was surprised by its last trip to Afghanistan in 2009-10, when it was still flagged as the 5th Brigade. It had been preparing to fight in Iraq, and its leaders had to scramble to adjust to the new mission as they went into their final pre-deployment training.
Col. Harry Tunnell, the brigade’s commander at the time, did not buy into the Army’s strategy to cultivate relations with the local populace to help win the war in Afghanistan, according to an Army investigation obtained by The News Tribune. Tunnell believed the best way to keep his soldiers safe while accomplishing their mission was to adopt an aggressive offense to beat back insurgents.
Current 2nd Brigade soldiers are picking up Huggins’ message, according to the Army reports from its exercises.
“We’re taught not to be aggressive to the people; we’re taught to be friendly to the people,” Sgt. Clayton J. Green said. “It’s important to show we aren’t bullies; we’re here to protect them.”
Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646 adam.ashton@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/military
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