{"product_id":"172d-stryker-brigade-combat-team-commander-csm-iraq","title":"172d Stryker Brigade Combat Team Commander \u0026 CSM IRAQ","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis coin was awarded by the Commander (COL Michael Shields) \u0026amp; CSM (CSM \u003cspan\u003eWilliam Ulibarri)\u003c\/span\u003e, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 'Arctic Wolves', during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) between \u003cspan\u003eAugust 2005 and November 2006--longest combat deployment for Alaska soldiers since the Vietnam War.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe brigade's tour was to have ended on 27 July 2006, but the U.S. Army unexpectedly extended the deployment until the end of November 2006. During the extension, the unit was sent to Baghdad to quell growing sectarian violence concerns.\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 12.5px;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe infamous extension\u003c\/strong\u003e of the deployment had happened after some of the units of the Brigade were already touched down at their home base of Fort Wainwright, AK, forcing them to fly back to staging areas in Iraq.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Iraq, the “Arctic Wolves” earned distinction as they took on what Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey called “the toughest challenge of any unit in Iraq,” including a four-month extension.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"ChallengeCoinTrader","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67663274278965,"sku":"gcw1791952289313","price":56.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0715\/9712\/9781\/files\/172d-stryker-brigade-combat-team-commander-csm-iraq_1.jpg?v=1791952295","url":"https:\/\/elasticrecoverfit.shop\/products\/172d-stryker-brigade-combat-team-commander-csm-iraq","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}