Report: Pentagon ignored urgent request for MRAPs for nearly two years
A US Marine Corps RG-31 Cougar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle rests on its front axle after an I.E.D. detonated directly under the vehicle. The blast was pushed outward instead of straight up due to the vehicle's “V”–shaped undercarriage. Of the five service members in the vehicle, two received concussions and two others received minor burns.
The Marine Corps waited over a year before acting on an "priority 1 urgent" request to send blast-resistant vehicles to Iraq, DANGER ROOM has learned.
According to a Marine Corps document provided to DANGER ROOM, the request for over 1,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles came in February, 2005. A formal call to fulfill that order did not emerge until November, 2006. "There is an immediate need for an MRAP vehicle capability to increase survivability and mobility of Marines operating in a hazardous fire area against known threats," the 2005 "universal need statement" notes...
"The [Marines] cannot continue to lose... serious and grave casualties to IED[s]... when a commercial off the shelf capability exists to mititgate [against] these threats," the request continues.
Read the rest at Wired
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The Marine Corps waited over a year before acting on an "priority 1 urgent" request to send blast-resistant vehicles to Iraq, DANGER ROOM has learned.
According to a Marine Corps document provided to DANGER ROOM, the request for over 1,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles came in February, 2005. A formal call to fulfill that order did not emerge until November, 2006. "There is an immediate need for an MRAP vehicle capability to increase survivability and mobility of Marines operating in a hazardous fire area against known threats," the 2005 "universal need statement" notes...
"The [Marines] cannot continue to lose... serious and grave casualties to IED[s]... when a commercial off the shelf capability exists to mititgate [against] these threats," the request continues.
Read the rest at Wired
Related Link:
Report: Production capacity, materials lacking for MRAPs
Related Link:
Pentagon: Loss of U.S. industrial base affecting miliary needs
Related Link:
Source: Army to seek 17,700 MRAPs to replace Iraq Humvees by 2009
Related Link:
Army: Vehicle, gear stockpiles at 5-year low
Related Link:
Pace: Equipment shortage could last years after Iraq war
Related Link:
Marines to place $3.7 billion order for 3,700 MRAP vehicles in Iraq by 2009
Related Link:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs: Not enough armored vehicles for surge troops
Related Link:
Report: Army crticially short in armor kits for Humvees for surge troops
Related Link:
Analysis: Army struggles to keep vehicles on battlefields
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