The first two Stryker vehicles for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade — a rapid deployment force — passed through Crawford County on Friday afternoon on Interstate 79 en route to Erie.

They arrived at the Erie headquarters of the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry — part of the Stryker Brigade Combat Team located at 350 E. Sixth St.

The first two Stryker vehicles are medical evacuation vehicles to provide advance trauma and life-saving equipment to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield.

National Guard units in Meadville, Erie, Corry, Butler and Ford City are part of the new brigade centered around the Army’s new combat vehicle — the Stryker. It’s a 19-ton, eight-wheeled light armored vehicle that bridges the gap between light and heavy forces.

The 56th Brigade of Pennsylvania Army National Guard is the only reserve unit authorized to field these vehicles.

For the past year, members of the 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry have been undergoing training in how to operate the vehicles, said Maj. Timothy Foor of the Erie-based headquarters unit.

The training has incorporated driver, vehicle commander, and maintenance training as well as digital training in the operation of the vehicle’s sophisticated systems.

The rest of the battalion will be receiving vehicles throughout the summer with completion in late September, Foor said.

The next to receive vehicles will be Company A stationed in Butler and Ford City. Company B from Meadville and Corry will receive vehicles in late July, Foor said. They will be followed by Company C in Ridgway and Bradford. Finally, the Headquarters Company will receive additional vehicles in September.

In May 2008, the northwest Pennsylvania’s elements of the 56th Stryker Brigade will move to a new $19.8 million readiness center near Cambridge Springs. It’s one of 10 being built across Pennsylvania to house the brigade. Construction on the new center began this spring.

The new center near Cambridge Springs is expected to house as many as 74 of the brigade’s 330 armored vehicles.