2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, became the first ground combat force in the U.S. Army to fire a FGM-148 Javelin using the Common Remote Weapon Station-Javelin (CROWS-J ) system from a Stryker, making it the most lethal formation in the U.S. Army, April 28 at Fort Carson, Colo.CROWS-J is an M153 CROWS II system manufactured by Kongsberg that has been modifi ed through the addition and fire control integration of the FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). In conjunction with the Javelin missile, the CROWS II mounts either a M2 .50 caliber machine gun, M240 7.62 mm machine gun, or an MK-19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher.
The CROWS II is stabilized, electrically operated, and incorporates a Detached Line-of-Sight (DLOS), which allows the gunner to maintain a stable sight picture independent of weapon or ammunition selection. The CROWS-J replaces the legacy Remote Weapon Station (RWS) mounted on the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV), and gives infantry and scout soldiers the ability to engage targets with the Javelin missile while under armor. It increases the range and expands the target array of enemy vehicles that can be defeated by the Stryker Brigade Combat Team, including armored vehicles.
When equipped with the Stryker CROWS-J, the majority of infantry and scout platoons from the 2CR were able to engage targets with the Javelin missile and accomplish their assigned tactical task and purpose.Units equipped with the Stryker CROWS-J will provide the Commander, European Command with a medium-weight force capable of rapid strategic and operational mobility to disrupt or destroy enemy military forces, to control land areas including populations and resources, and to conduct combat operations to protect U.S. national interests. The Stryker CROWS-J improves unit lethality by enabling crews to detect, identify, and defeat targets at greater ranges.
The 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division was activated on 4 May 2007 at Fort Lewis, Washington. At the time 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team was the Army’s newest Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the seventh formed within the US Army up to that date. In July 2010, the 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team was inactivated and reflagged as the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The brigade’s Special Troops Battalion was also inactivated and reflagged and the rest of the subordinate units were reassigned to the reactivated 2nd SBCT. The 2nd Infantry Division (“Indianhead”) is a formation of the United States Army.
