The number one question that needs to be asked is where, and under what circumstances is this new vehicle expected to be used?
The second question is even trickier, and takes some explanation. Who is going to be using this new vehicle?
This is, because it has become too expensive to use our top of the line military for cheesy little bush wars, peacekeeping missions, guard duty and other such nonsense in every little rat hole in the world.
America needs to create the equivalent of an offshore French Foreign Legion, a private company, but led by US officers, to do the piddling stuff for a fraction of the price. Strictly for low intensity, extended and international mission operations, costing tens of millions instead of tens or hundreds of billions of dollars.
All their transport and logistics would be provided by the US military, but these contractors would be the ones sitting in some African pestilence for a dozen years, not our soldiers.
Europe did something like this for over a thousand years, hiring mercenary companies to handle their disputes, with the understanding that they would not abuse the local civilians on either side.
By being offshore, there would be no limitation to who such a company could hire, though most would not be US citizens. And, as private contractors working for a private company, though under US auspices, they would not have to obey nonsense and anti-military directives from Washington. If told to do so, they could just quit. Part of their contract.
For the most part, the Pentagon would be very happy with this arrangement, because it would permit them to keep the US military in good condition for the stuff they need to do, not worn down and degraded by doing piddly stuff.
My number one question is where can I go buy a military surplus Humvee! I suppose the rules will be such that won’t happen. A guy I know has an old WWII surplus Willies that is GREAT for field work in the mud, etc. (Chilly though with no windows!)
Jerry Pournelle has been saying similar things since 9/11. He makes a strong distinction between the Legions, and what they ought and ought not to be doing, and the Auxiliaries that we don’t have.
The Legions were needed to take down Saddam, if it really needed to be done. They should not have been used for occupation of Iraq. Auxiliaries should have been used for that, with a small contingent of Legionnaires kept nearby, but not participating in the occupation efforts, to keep the Auxiliaries honest.