Posted on 07/09/2009 4:54:15 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – The military is sending thousands of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Afghanistan, even while a new version is being built, to protect troops against their biggest threat: improvised explosive devices.
Because IEDs pose the biggest threat to troops in Afghanistan, the nation’s top military officer said yesterday, the military will keep the MRAPs flowing there until new versions built specifically for the Afghan terrain are ready for shipment.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told a National Press Club audience that IEDs have become “more and more sophisticated over time.” Combined with increasingly sophisticated Taliban attacks, they pose an increasing threat to deployed troops, he said.
Mullen offered his comments just before traveling to Dover Air Force Base, Del., as the remains of seven servicemembers -- six of them killed by roadside bombs -- were returned home from Afghanistan.
While predicting casualties will continue to spike during tough fighting in the months ahead, Mullen said the Defense Department is flowing thousands of MRAPs into Afghanistan to protect forces there.
So far, 3,020 MRAPs have been shipped to Afghanistan, reported Cynthia Bauer, a U.S. Transportation Command spokeswoman. That brings to more than 15,000 the number of MRAPs that Transcom has delivered to the theater, she said.
About half of the Afghanistan deliveries were by airlift and half by “multi-modal” delivery, a combination of airlift and sealift.
“From an equipment standpoint, there’s no higher priority than to get these vehicles in theater as rapidly as we can,” Mullen said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Transcom is gearing up work with the MRAP Joint Program Office and Centcom to get the M-ATVs to Afghanistan as quickly as it got MRAPs to Iraq. "We will build on that success to field additional life-saving MRAPs as they come on line," said Air Force Col. Greg Schwartz, chief of the East Division at USTRANSCOM's Deployment Operations Center.
The M-ATVs are expected to be fielded later this year, with all deliveries completed by spring.
“We’re working hard to get the right vehicle in the right place at the right time,” Mullen said. “But in the meantime, we’re flowing thousands … to Afghanistan to meet the needs that are there right now,” he said.
Oshkosh Corp., winner of the $1.06 billion contract, has moved into overdrive to meet the accelerated delivery schedule, company officials said. The first vehicles are expected to be delivered this month.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said after visiting Afghanistan in early May that he was impressed to hear firsthand “the real impact” that MRAPs are having in Afghanistan.
“It really was brought home to me when they showed me an MRAP that had been attacked,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. “Two of the soldiers that had been inside of it were standing beside the MRAP, completely unscathed,” he said. The other two soldiers had non-life-threatening injuries.
Gates was the power behind the effort to move more MRAPs into Iraq to protect troops against underbelly explosions. As security conditions began heating up in Afghanistan, he ordered more there, too.
I believe Oshkosh got a big contract for the smaller M-ATV to be used in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I only own 100 shares of Oshkosh Truck; should’ve purchased more. I believe BAE Systems was also in the running.
This is fantastic equipment being provided to our armed services fighting the war in Afg... Quite a difference between this equipment and the 3rd Marine Amtracs of the Korean war.
For some time, I have had this thought as regards the sophisticated weapons hardware we using to fight these wars in Iraq and now in Afg... Would we be able to win these wars just using the arms that the terrorists use and not able to use the sophisticated land and air war machines that the United States has? Would we really be able to beat them without our aircraft, tanks, artillery, etc?
A thought for discussion here on FR... try not to get emotional with your response... getting emotional is what liberals/socialists/DemoRats do... keep your cool...
-
Short answer: Yes.
Longer answer: Absolutely, yes.
All our geewhizery in weapons are only force multipliers. Our force, even without those multipliers are so very much better trained, better led, better motivated, more disciplined and inherently more capable of sustained aggressive action, that no enemy or combinations of enemy could stand against us.
The only real advantage any enemy has currently against us in warfighting is the political cowardice that has infested our nation since the communist propaganda win in Vietnam.
Sorry, forgot to add:
But, in the end, the question you ask is meaningless. We have all that geewhizery because we, as a nation, invested time, effort, energy and funding toward having that techno geewhizery. We did that because we ain’t so stupid, as a nation, to assume that such things wouldn’t be a real nice have when push comes to shove.
We’re not only better at the basics of warfighting, we’re so very much better at investing in our future as competent warfighters.
Yes, if we had the same ROE. Remember, we are being forced to fight wars without hurting anyone, giving the no-rules enemy a distinct advantage.
Do those things meet CAFE standards? The Democrats will soon be insisting on it.
Don’t laugh, but MARSOC is definitely looking at diesel-hybrid power to extend range. You should hear some of the neat stuff they’re experimenting with at Special Operations Command. Some of these prototype weapons, drones and vehicles are being tested in the field (many have been featured on The Military Channel’s Future Weapons program).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.