WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, applauded the U.S. Army’s announcement it will convert 66 additional flat bottom Stryker infantry combat vehicles to newer, more survivable Double V Hull (DVH) models.
According to a release from Shelby’s office, that work will preserve 80 jobs that are part of the so-called DVH exchange program at the Anniston Army Depot.
“This announcement is welcome news for our troops who depend on the DVH Stryker and the workers in Alabama who build them,” Shelby said. “I am pleased that the Army responded to my request to address this matter.”
Late last year, Shelby had lobbied Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno to expedite plans to upgrade the Stryker vehicles on the heels of an announcement the Army’s public-private partner General Dynamics was considering layoffs as its contract for 4,400 Strykers was winding down.
“The ongoing Striker DVH Exchange program is rapidly coming to an end which would cause tremors in the Stryker industrial base,” Shelby wrote in a Dec. 19, 2012 letter to Gen. Odierno. “Failure to contract for the additional Stryker DVH vehicles will cause layoffs to occur and the loss of the quality workforce that now produces the Stryker DVH vehicle.
The Stryker had been deployed in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and is a vehicle used to quickly deploy infantry to the battlefield.
Follow Jeff on Twitter @Jeff_Poor
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.