The war means as many as 15,000 more people are moving to Ft. Lewis. The Army is adding a new Stryker Brigade to the fort. It's like dropping an instant city into the area.

The 4,000 men and women of the brand new 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division held their activation ceremony at the army base.

Some of them are seasoned combat veterans with several tours in Iraq. But many are young recruits who've never seen battle.

"First of all I want to say to each of you 'thank you for joining our ranks in a time of war,' 1st Corps Commander Brigade Gen. William Troy told the crowd. "You can expect to deploy and to fight and you've made that decision with your eyes open."

Right now two local Stryker Brigades are in Iraq with a total of 10,000 Ft. Lewis based soldiers there.

Fort Lewis started the concept of the Stryker Combat Team. This unit is going to be trained a bit differently than its predecessors. The goal is to prepare this new brigade to better handle the cultural differences and language barriers.

"I think it's important," said First. Sgt. Gregory Johnson. "I think it gives the soldiers an idea of what they're working with and who they're working with. Understanding the culture is half of the battle."

If the unit deploys to Iraq, it would be Johnson's third time there.

"No, I don't have any concerns at all," said his wife, Carmen Johnson. "This is what he signed up to do and he loves to do that, so I support him 100 percent."

Carmen and her children join up to 15,000 more Army family members moving here.

The new brigade is scheduled to be ready to go in March 2009.

When asked, "You think we'll still be Iraq at that point?" 5th Brigade commander Col. Harry Tunnell, IV said, "That's a question you're going to have to ask someone else. We are training like we are going to war."

The commanders at Fort Lewis say it's important to remember this is not just a war in Iraq. It is a war on terror. They need to be ready to go no matter where that war takes them.

Only about 60 percent of the 5th Brigade has arrived at Fort Lewis. The rest of the soldiers and their families will be arriving over the next several months.

For More Information:

Fort Lewis Web site