THE AMAZINGLY FLEXIBLE REMARKABLY STRONG UNITED STATES ARMY

This represents an astonishing, but necessary transition for the Tankers, who traditionally like to make fun of the Infantry for, as they say, having to "walk to work".

Three weeks ago, the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor left Schweinfurt, Germany, for Kuwait as a dyed-in-the-wool tank unit.

Today, bulked-up with 200 extra troops and retrained as foot soldiers, most of the members of the renamed Task Force 1-77 slog through the sand as infantry.

The transformation of 1-77 Armor into Task Force 1-77 is only an example of what’s happening throughout the division and, in fact, throughout the Army as the first wave of troops in Iraq gives way to the second this spring. It is a sign of changes to come, as the Army prepares to scrap its divisions and find a more flexible structure.

Most of the 1-77 Armor’s tanks remained in Germany, its men assigned to Humvees...

“We’re transforming ourselves at the human level into a more flexible organization,” said Lt. Col. David Hubner, 43, of Gray, Tenn., the task force commander. “We’re the Swiss Army knife of the Army.”...

Making these ad-hoc outfits work falls to company commanders such as Capt. Henry Delacruz, 31, of Athens, Ga., commander of Task Force 1-77’s Company B. A tank officer by training, he now finds himself in command of an infantry unit, 90 percent of whose troops are infantrymen he didn’t know before coming to Kuwait.

“It’s the total opposite of what I usually have,” Delacruz said. “But I trained the company as best I could, as infantry soldiers.”

Infantry soldiers (known as 11 Bravos, in Army parlance) and tankers (known as 19 Kilos) come from sharply different military cultures. The infantrymen are hard-charging and action-oriented. Tankers are easy-going and team-focused...

Still, the 1st ID and its task forces face a giant challenge during its yearlong mission. Soldiers must find a way to pacify the stubborn Sunni Triangle and ready it for democracy. And they’ll be doing it without the safety of armored tanks.

“This is where the Army’s going to go: with combined arms,” predicted Delacruz, the Company B commander. “You’ve got to be a little more competent, and a lot more flexible.”

Or, as soldiers are fond of saying, “Semper Gumby.”