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To: blanknoone
The humvee can go a heck of a lot of places that such a large vehicle can't go simply from size. Based on what I've seen of a humvee on teraain, I'd suspect that it can negotiate a lot of terrain and back-roads that thing can't.
93 posted on 11/23/2003 3:16:34 PM PST by lepton
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To: lepton
"The humvee can go a heck of a lot of places that such a large vehicle can't go simply from size. Based on what I've seen of a humvee on teraain, I'd suspect that it can negotiate a lot of terrain and back-roads that thing can't."

But think about the terrain in Iraq. In Baghdad and Fallujah, where patrolling is most hazardous, patrols are done on urban terrain. There are guard rails, tall medians, and heavy traffic. None of that slows down the Bradley. It can drive over the medians and guard rails. It actually manuevers easier in traffic, because it does pivot turns and the local drivers show a lot more caution around the Bradleys than the HMMWVs. Also, many homes have walls around the property. If you are conducting a raid, the best way to do it is to use a Bradley to smash through the wall, so that the dismounts can make a quick entry into the building. The only places that a HMMWV can go that a Bradley can't are tight alleyways. But why would anyone drive down a tight alleyway?

"It makes a lot of sense from a tactical point of view: Greatly increased vision, greatly decreased visibility, and fewer turtles."

Actually, less vision, because you are down at the level of the other traffic. The Bradley allows the gunner and BC to see from a vantage point over ten feet in the air. Decreased visibility is not really an issue, since one of the purposes of nearly every patrol is to put forth a heavy presense, to reassure the population and disrupt enemy activity.

104 posted on 11/23/2003 3:54:15 PM PST by Voice in your head ("The secret of Happiness is Freedom, and the secret of Freedom, Courage." - Thucydides)
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