SCHOFIELD BARRACKS — The Stryker brigade and its 4,000 soldiers received a send-off yesterday for 15 months in Iraq amid uncertainty over whether the unit will return to Hawai'i afterward.

The ceremony at Sills Field repeated a scene that has become familiar since early 2004 — when the same unit, the 2nd Brigade, which was then a light infantry brigade — prepared for Schofield's first big deployment to Iraq.

The last of more than 7,000 other Schofield soldiers who spent the past 15 months in northern Iraq, meanwhile, returned home yesterday. With them was 25th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon.

About 750 soldiers representing five Stryker battalions heading out stood at attention and saluted as their unit flags were cased for the deployment that will begin after Thanksgiving.

But there was more soldier optimism even as commanders raised concern about repeat deployments and an overstretched force more than 4 1/2 years into the Iraq War.

The Stryker brigade and its 328 armored vehicles are expected to operate in the areas of Taji, the desert to the west, and north Baghdad, where sectarian violence remains a large problem.

The monthly toll of U.S. service members who have died in Iraq in October is on track to be the lowest in nearly two years, with 36 troop deaths recorded as of yesterday, according to The Associated Press.

The so-called "Anbar Awakening" and rebellion of tribal sheiks against al-Qaida fundamentalism in the west has raised hopes that similar efforts and a political reconciliation can be successful in Taji, about 10 miles north of the capital.

"I think (the news) is encouraging. I follow as closely as I can the news coming out of Iraq — specifically with the reconciliation in Anbar province," said 1st Lt. Chris Calway, 25, from Wilmington, Mass. "We're on the outskirts of Anbar. It's encouraging to see that things are improving and hopefully, that can extend to our area, too."

CAPABILITY ATTAINED

More than two years after the transformation to a Stryker brigade was begun, Maj. Gen. William Brandenburg, the deputy commanding general of U.S. Army, Pacific, at Fort Shafter, told those assembled yesterday for the sendoff that initial operating capability for the unit has been attained.

The 19-ton armored vehicles include an infantry model that carries nine soldiers and two crew.

The Stryker brigade preparedness hasn't come without challenges, including an environmental lawsuit and federal court ruling that has the Army re-examining whether the $1.5 billion unit should remain in Hawai'i, or be in Alaska or Colorado.

EIS PENDING

Some of the nearly $700 million in projects that were under way for the brigade on O'ahu and the Big Island were halted, with a judge allowing only training crucial for the Iraq deployment.

An environmental impact statement is being completed, and when the 15-month deployment to Iraq is over, the Stryker soldiers could find that their homecoming will be to the Mainland.

"I've truly been privileged to watch these great leaders and soldiers overcome obstacles," Brandenburg said, noting the litigation.

"Time — not enough time to get things done. Distance required to get some training completed that required a separation of eight weeks (from families)."

But Brandenburg said "the mission was successfully accomplished. ... The team is ready for what lies ahead. I've seen the preparation."

Col. Todd B. McCaffrey, the Stryker brigade's commander, said soldiers will have about two weeks' leave starting this weekend. There is the expectation that they will begin leaving for Iraq shortly after Thanksgiving.

McCaffrey said the brigade is "working hard" to maintain the post-Thanksgiving departure schedule because the soldiers will be away from their families most of this holiday season and possibly all of the next with the deployment.

The brigade's 328 Stryker vehicles are getting birdcage-like "slat" armor and other upgrades before being shipped from San Diego to Kuwait.

The soldiers recently completed two months of training and brigade certification in California. They are expected to be gone from Hawai'i by mid-December.

The Stryker soldiers also will land in Kuwait and stay at Camp Buehring, one of the temporary tent cities the U.S. military maintains in the desert.

There, they will conduct a few extra days of weapons live-fire training before heading into Iraq. The Stryker vehicles will be trucked on flatbeds to the Taji area.

PROS AND CONS

McCaffrey said soldiers who re-enlisted to stay with the Stryker brigade remained in Hawai'i for the past two years as the unit was transformed.

That's better than many other Army units, which have been on quicker turn-arounds for Iraq duty.

"The reality is, most of these (non-commissioned officers) want to go back, because the ones who were there before want to see the mission through," McCaffrey said.

Calway, the first lieutenant with the 66th Engineers, said there are definitely pros and cons.

He and his wife, Kelly, have a 5-week-old daughter, Hazel.

"I'm excited to go with my unit and go with my guys that I've been training with," said Calway, who's making his first Iraq deployment. "But I do hate leaving my wife and baby."

Michelle Chavez said the impending deployment "is a little nerve-racking, I guess you could say, because it's the first time going through it for me."

Spc. Ruben Chavez, 20, her husband, is an infantryman. They have two children.

"I'm busy, trying to get everything arranged before he leaves, and to spend as much time as possible with the kids," she said.

Erin Picco also said it's difficult balancing family life and combat deployments with a 17-month-old son.

Capt. Luciano Picco, 25, from Albuquerque, N.M., is with the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery.

"I know he's out there doing what he loves to do. He's trying to protect everyone and I try to support him," Erin Picco said. "But it's difficult to raise our child when he's gone."

She wishes he was deploying to Afghanistan instead of Iraq, and is hoping the next year will be one of positive change for U.S. troops, but she, too, has greater overall optimism.

"I can tell they are making progress from talking to other people who have been overseas," she said. "I'm glad they are doing what they are doing."

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com.