Strykers Bronzed to a Desert Tan

Jagadish Hajam, an auto body repairman and painter from Nepal, applies a coat of Tan 686A, a paint meant for desert camouflage, on the wheels of a Stryker armored combat vehicle inside a booth at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 3. It's the first vehicle to adopt the new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

Dar Barker, a General Dynamics Land Systems retrofit chief from Puyallup, Wa., directs an armored combat vehicle outside the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. The Stryker infantry carrier vehicle had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq. It's the first vehicle to adopt a new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

Jagadish Hajam, an auto body repairman and painter from Nepal, applies a coat of Tan 686A, a paint meant for desert camouflage, along the wheel well of a Stryker armored combat vehicle inside a booth at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 3. It's the first vehicle to adopt the new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

Jagadish Hajam, an auto body repairman and painter from Nepal, applies a coat of Tan 686A, a paint meant for desert camouflage, underneath a Stryker armored combat vehicle inside a booth at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 3. It's the first vehicle to adopt the new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Butts, 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade commander, stands outside the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. A Stryker infantry carrier vehicle had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq. It's the first vehicle to adopt a new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

Jagadish Hajam, an auto body repairman and painter from Nepal, applies a coat of Tan 686A, a paint meant for desert camouflage, on the wheels of a Stryker armored combat vehicle inside a booth at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 3. It's the first vehicle to adopt the new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Butts, 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade commander, listens to Rick Hunt, General Dynamics Land Systems site manager, explain new retrofit requirements at a Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. A planned transition to a desert tan color represents the latest survivability improvement since Stryker vehicles moved into Afghanistan this summer. GDLS welders and mechanics have been installing mine protection kits, tire fire suppression kits, cameras, engine enhancements and software upgrades. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Butts, 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade commander, glances over new retrofit requirements at a Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. Rick Hunt, General Dynamics Land Systems site manager, explains the changes, which include a transition to a desert tan color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

A Stryker armored combat vehicle rolls out of the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. The Stryker infantry carrier vehicle had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq. It's the first vehicle to adopt a new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

A Stryker armored combat vehicle circles around the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. The Stryker infantry carrier vehicle had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq. It's the first vehicle to adopt a new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

A Stryker armored combat vehicle sits inside a Stryker battle damage repair facility staging area at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. The Stryker infantry carrier vehicle had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq. It's the first vehicle to adopt a new desert tan color in Southwest Asia, in preparation for a planned phase out of the Stryker's current deep green color. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Butts, 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade commander, listens to Rick Hunt, General Dynamics Land Systems site manager, explain new retrofit requirements at a Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5. A planned transition to a desert tan color represents the latest survivability improvements since Stryker vehicles moved into Afghanistan this summer. GDLS welders and mechanics have been installing mine protection kits, tire fire suppression kits, cameras, engine enhancements and software upgrades. (Photo by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

Dispatches from the Front:

CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar, Oct. 7, 2009 -- Stryker armored combat vehicles will soon receive a cosmetic makeover for better concealment in Iraq and Afghanistan. The current deep green color will be phased out in favor of desert tan. The first to adopt the change was revealed inside the Stryker battle damage repair facility at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, Oct. 5, an infantry carrier vehicle that had been restored after deterioration during enemy engagement in Iraq.

"Safeguarding soldiers is the primary purpose for this color change," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Peter Butts, 1st Battalion, 401st Army Field Support Brigade commander. "Strykers will blend into surroundings better. They're less likely to stand out like silhouettes." Produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, the eight-wheeled armored combat vehicles have been painted a foliage green color since their combat debut in 2003, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"Talks about changing the color have been ongoing since 2004," said Butts. "Painting this first Stryker helped us understand the necessary man hours, material needs and unit coordination to finally make it happen – it's our proof of principle." Every Stryker vehicle sent to the Qatar repair site will depart desert tan, once administrative requirements are complete.

Tan 686A is a paint meant for desert camouflage. It's the same solid color covering most military equipment throughout Southwest Asia, where encountering dust storms and sand dunes are far more common than thick jungles and rolling prairies. To lighten the current tint while in sandy terrain, Central Command war fighters have relied on dust collected in the abrasive texture of the vehicle's hull and slat armor.

The planned transition to desert tan represents the latest survivability retrofit since Stryker vehicles moved into Afghanistan this summer. Since then, GDLS welders and mechanics have installed mine protection kits, tire fire suppression kits, cameras, engine enhancements and software upgrades.

Stryker combat vehicles provide CENTCOM military operations with the following ten configurations: infantry carrier vehicle; command vehicle; fire support vehicle; engineer support vehicle; reconnaissance vehicle; medical evacuation vehicle; anti-tank guided missile vehicle; mortar carrier; nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicle; and mobile gun system. Additional variants and improvement options are constantly explored by GDLS and U.S. government officials.

"This first tan vehicle is for soldiers in Afghanistan," said Rick Hunt, GDLS site manager at the battle damage repair facility in Qatar. "Soon, everything we receive from Iraq and Afghanistan for retrofit and repairs will leave here tan."

(Report by Dustin Senger, Area Support Group Qatar Public Affairs Office.)

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