Military on the move

This is my first post, and I apologize if it is in the wrong place.
Please feel free to edit and or move as necessary.

I have been a "lurker" for many years, but after what I saw today, I just had to jump in.

I live in a small town in South Centarl Oregon. Pretty much a cowboy or redneck place if you must.

At my job I have a good view of the rail cars that come in and out of the rail yard. Today, I noticed approx. 80 Armored Personnel Carriers on flat beds, heading north. Several with missle laucher fittings attached. I have worked here for nearly three years and this is the first time I have seen anything of this nature.
Perhaps they are bound for Fort Lewis Wa.? At least they weren't White with UN on them..

Do you know what type they were Strykers, LAV-25, Bradley?

They were Strykers.
en.wikipedia.org...

My bad on the launcher fittings. That is how the APC's were in Nam.

Strykers that makes sense.

Strykers indeed are being deployed to units at Fort Lewis, WA. The stryker contract's first iteration calls for enough LAVs to equip the first IBCT at Fort Lewis. They are produced at a plant in Lima, Ohio perhaps that was a new shipment

www.globalsecurity.org...

Since you say they are manufactured in Ohio, why would they be arriving from the south and not the east. Seems to me the most direct shipping route would be to the west; vs south and then north???

They were probably taken somewhere to a proving ground in California or Nevada somewhere and put through their paces first. The Stryker is still new to the army, so they're not going to just accept them straight out of the factory and say "ok, ready send them into service." They're going to want to test them first and make sure all the systems work the way they're supposed to.

Good Point, and thank you.

Looking more into them only its hull structures are produced at a plant in Lima, Ohio.

Seems there are four major plants for them

Structure, fabrication and final assembly of the LAVs takes place in both Anniston, Ala., and London, Ontario in Canada. Engineering takes place in Sterling Heights, Mich., and upper hull structures are produced at a plant in Lima, Ohio.

I would assume the final product rolls off the line at either Anniston, Ala., or London, Ontario where final assembly

I dont know too much about major rail lines from those locations of these too Fort Lewis, WA. But taking a guess I would think they came from the Anniston, Ala plant but I could be wrong

edit---------
I didnt even think about the proving grounds they have to be tested good point Zaphod58

[edit on 12-3-2006 by ShadowXIX]