The Ghosts Come Knocking

The Iraqis christened the Soldiers of the Arrowhead Brigade with a second name: “the Ghosts.” The 3d Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division earned this new Iraqi nickname during their first deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) because their fast and quiet Stryker Vehicles enabled the Brigade to conduct full-spectrum operations virtually undetected until the Soldiers were on their objectives. The quick, efficient and stealthy operations carried out by the Arrowhead Brigade in its first few months in Iraq led the local Iraqis to believe the U.S. Army’s first Stryker Brigade Combat Team were like ghosts that came and went suddenly, and quietly, in the night.