WASHINGTON, Tuesday, September 10, 2013 – U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced that the U.S. Army’s TACOM Life Cycle Management Command will convert 66 additional flat bottom Stryker infantry combat vehicles to newer, more survivable Double V Hull (DVH) models. The work will preserve the existing workforce of 80 employees who support the DVH exchange program at the Anniston Army Depot.
The first DVH Strykers were rapidly fielded in response to the needs to our commanders in Operation Enduring Freedom, and have drastically improved troop safety. Amid uncertainty last year over whether and when the Army would contract for additional Stryker conversions, Shelby wrote to Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond T. Odierno, on December, 19, 2012, to request that he personally engage on this matter to ensure that the bureaucracy did not unnecessarily limit the rapid production and fielding of this vital capability. A copy of Sen. Shelby’s letter to Gen. Odierno is attached.
“This announcement is welcome news for our troops who depend on the DVH Stryker and the workers in Alabama who build them,” said Shelby. “I am pleased that the Army responded to my request to address this matter.”