The “Ultimate Betrayal”? - Humvee realities.

NRO ^ | December 21, 2005 | W. Thomas Smith Jr.

[Anti-Bubba182]

"THE ROCK" (IED-proof APC?) SURVIVES IED BLAST

[FreedomCalls]

The wheels are too small on that. It would work only on a paved road. The army needs something more like this:

[Liberfighter]

Hmmm....since the marines have no active para units except force and radio recon guys I dunno if the guy was in force.

He probably just went to jump school and said he was a paratrooper, though never on jump status.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I think they want something more than a HUMMER and less than a striker. As far as the off road quality, I believe most, if not all, IED casualties were on roads.

[Lurker]

You're right about no 'paras' being in the Marines, at least not in the Army sense of the word.

You're either jump qualified or your not and there are no specialized 'paratroop' units in the Corps.

L

[adamsjas]

The army needs something more like this:

How does the Italian Army fair with IEDs?

[OldArmy52]

The Dems complain about combat vehicle deficiencies, but when in power, gut the military budget needed for correcting said deficiencies (ala Clinton, ala Carter).

In the Carter era, we were reduced to buying commercial (civilian) pickup trucks and just painting them O.D.

Ok for State side duty, but for combat????

[Lurker]

I was in the Corps just after Reagan was elected. I remember taking marksmanship training with M-14s because there weren't enough 16s to go around.

No that I found that to be a bad thing, I loved that 14.

But, I remember seeing lots of beat to crap Suburbans around Pendleton and we were issued what must have been WWII vintage 1911s.

L

[neverdem]

U.S. Troops Want a Better Bullet Comment 45 has an assessment of Iraq and the weaponry used there. Comment 91 has the best description of terminal ballistics in 5.56 mm rounds that I've seen.

From time to time, I’ll ping on noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs. FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.

[kingu]

I like NASCAR's contribution in design...

[Caipirabob]

By the way, I couldn't help noticing the author's tagline - there is no such thing as a U.S. Marine paratrooper.

That's just because Marines don't need parachutes.

[sumocide]

Dingo - All Protected Vehicle

[raynearhood]

Kinda like this?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6b/Stryker-IFV-50cal.jpg

[Hardastarboard]

Why is it taking so long to design, develop, produce, and deploy — in adequate numbers — a troop-transporting armored vehicle that would replace the up-armored Humvee in Iraq? I've been asked that question time and again, not by soldiers and Marines who ride in Humvees daily, but by fellow journalists, many of whom have logged time in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Note who's asking the question, first off (hint - reporters). I've got your answer. You're a dope reporter who can't even spell engineering, much less understand the requirements of weight, fuel efficiency, load capacity, serviceability, etc. That stuff takes time to get right, and guess who'll be the first critic in line if anyone of those and several critical factors in vehicle design are omitted or shirked.

That said, I think the telling point here again is, who's asking the question? It's not the military.

[Wiz]

Other problems would be cost performance, and mass productivity. It could be very challenging with a limited military budget to afford costly heavy armored vehicles for every soldier, just like all the fuss about F-22A Raptor for its price. If the cost goes high, I would expects the Dems would slam on this creating more headaches. Well, they were a headache in the first place anyways.

[Wiz]

I strongly recommend M1117 ASV-150 as the next generation of Hummers under new threats, with configurations for multi-purpose role. It's cost performance is good enough to handle certain tactics of guerilla warfare, and be produced in mass. It's more expensive than M1114, but much cheaper than Strykers.

[Beckwith]

The HUMVEE was produced to replace the jeep and the weapons carrier (3/4 ton truck).

Compared to those two vehicles the stock HUMVEE was an order of magnitude improvement. It was never designed or intended to be an armored vehicle, although it did have some bullet resistant properties..

As Rumsfeld has said, "you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had.

[Ninian Dryhope]

Posted yesterday.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1544593/posts