Troop protector relegated to the parking lot
By Mike Mount
After spending more than $40 billion on an emergency program to save U.S. troops from roadside bomb attacks, the U.S. Army is trying to figure out what to do with tens of thousands of mine-resistant vehicles headed home from the battlefield.
The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle program was rushed into design and production at the height of the war in Iraq as the military struggled to identify a way to protect the troops who were being killed in large numbers each day.
The hulking, heavily armored trucks, designed with a V-shaped hull to deflect the devastating effects of shrapnel and explosions from roadside bombs, played a unique and successful combat role in Iraq. But the MRAP’s extended height and extreme weight means most models can only be used in flat, open terrain or on wide roads, eliminating them from use in narrow and more rugged terrain.
Lighter, more mobile versions were designed for Afghanistan. But as the U.S. military changes its focus to emerging threats in Asia, the Army is struggling to figure out whether the MRAP can play a role in a future military where new combat vehicle programs are moving forward with new technologies.
"There are a number of people out there that are concerned with what we will do with what was a tremendous investment in MRAPS," said Col. Mark Barbosa, division chief for force development logistics, for the U.S. Army.
Army logisticians predict there will be about 20,000 MRAP variants returning from Afghanistan and Kuwait, where they have been piling up to be shipped back to the United States after service in Iraq. The Army’s plan for now is to repair and update them and put many of the MRAPS into prepositioned storage around the world for use in potential future conflicts, as well as put a smaller number in with existing support units.
With few options on the table for the MRAP, there is little or no uproar from Congress that a massive surplus of these vehicles will be sitting around for years to come - and could be potentially useless if a time comes to use them in combat theaters with different conditions than Iraq.
"The MRAP was a needed requirement to save lives and an investment was made," said one congressional official not authorized to speak on the record. "If you have them, isn’t it best to keep them on hand for now?"
But that is the problem with the MRAP: It was born and designed out of an immediate need in war and was a wild success. A lot of money was spent to protect the troops, but that leaves the military with a lot of vehicles that may never be used.
Congress is putting some pressure on the Army to determine whether there will be any role for the fleet in the future force structure. The House Armed Services Committee is asking the Department of Defense for a plan for the future of the vehicles.
The military has identified at least one role it is confident the vehicle can be used for years to come - mine clearing and explosive ordnance disposal, threats that will always endure in wars. Still others will go to train troops how to use the behemoths until troops leave Afghanistan after 2014.
But former Defense Secretary Robert Gates - the man responsible for pushing a stubborn military into designing and swiftly fielding the MRAP into the battlefield, saving hundreds if not thousands of lives - was not worried about the future.
"My attitude was, if you are in a war and kids’ lives are at stake, you’re all in," Gates said in an interview last year.
"You do whatever is necessary protect them and help them accomplish their mission, and you’ve got this stuff left over at the end, so be it…you also have left over a lot of living kids."
@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
Why not use them on the border with Mexico. Eventually the drug runners and the cartels will start using heavier munitions. At least our National Guard and Border Patrol Agents will be better protected than they are now.
You don't understand the Mexican border very well. The violence is almost exclusively cartel on cartel. They have strict orders never to kill a border agent or an American. The cartels do not want to pick an even bigger fight with the U.S. It's bad for business.
Sell them to the teabaggers. They can race them at nascar tracks. They can use them to pull their trailers out of the mud. They can use them to take their cousins out on a date. They can drive them to Walmart to shop for hunting knives and ammo. But they won't use them to make a trip to the dentist.
Sell them to the Dems. They can use them when they drive into the hood to hand out welfare checks.
Now the anarchist/liberals may need them because they have come out and run wild.
Only in America can you describe the same person as a Big Government "Liberal" and "Anarchist" in the same sentence. This country has no future.
If scraped, park them end to end along Mexican border and fill with concrete.
Great answer Bill
Apparently the average Mexican is far smarter than you. They're smart enough to dig a hole.
Or loan them to the Mexican government's anti-drug cartel effort. And by decriminalizing marijuana at the same time we could take the financial wind out of the cartel's mayhem.
Donate a bunch of them to the UN.
That's more than twice NASA's budget, which people complain about. Imagine the technological spinoffs and advances in science we could have had compared to the overall usefulness of these vehicles.
"But former Defense Secretary Robert Gates – the man responsible for pushing a stubborn military into designing and swiftly fielding the MRAP into the battlefield, saving hundreds if not thousands of lives – was not worried about the future.
"My attitude was, if you are in a war and kids’ lives are at stake, you’re all in," Gates said in an interview last year.
"You do whatever is necessary protect them and help them accomplish their mission, and you’ve got this stuff left over at the end, so be it…you also have left over a lot of living kids (WITH PTSD !!!!!!!!!!) ."
Ok.... We spent $40 Billion to protect our troops from getting killed in combat and saving countless lives. That is AWESOME ! BUT !! Where is the spending and support for the Troops that survived that now suffer horrendous effects of PTSD ??
WHERE IS THE OUT CRY ???
One of my best friends (Ret E9 Marine) was in 2 Humvees that ran over IEDs. He lost (2) of his troops and now suffers PTSD so bad he rarely talks to anyone anymore!
This Nation OWES it to the surviving Veterans to do anything and everything possible to help them recover from the effects of war!
Again... Mr.Gates OWN WORDS.....
""My attitude was, if you are in a war and kids’ lives are at stake, you’re all in," Gates said in an interview last year.
"You do whatever is necessary protect them and help them accomplish their mission, "
The effects of the Mission ARE NOT OVER !!
Who's with my on this ??
Robert E.Schultz
Retired USAF
Most politicians forget veterans. The liberals hate them. There should be a sound system to support the veterans.
Liberals love veterans. We want them to have all the medical care they need. And we only want them to be put in harm's way when absolutely necessary. We're even willing to pay more in taxes to pay for their care. Try running that one up your tea party flag pole and see who salutes.
You mean like the VA? One of those communist socialist terrorist Obama Bin-Laden backed programs you want to get rid of because you have to pay taxes for it? Try thinking.
The military needs to get their priorities in order. Spend less on multi-billion dollar, cold war weapons systems. And more supporting the troops. The problem is those weapon systems are built in states with influential Congressmen and Senators who want that government pork regardless of whether their weapons serve any purpose or not.
Don't worry $$$$ value watchers. They will be put to good use in the coming years. There are enough whacko muslim pedophile prophet following sand people that we need to kill.
Oooooo I want one! nope has a point there. Does the world really need polygamist pedophile prophet followers? I think not.
Anyways, they can always be sold to armies that could use them, like the Mex military on the border fighting the cartels, or other countries trying to get rid of old land mines. There's a few African nations that could put them to use also, getting rid of militant PPP followers. Just sell them. They already earned their money keeping our troops safe, money well spent.
Give one to Arnold. The rest of America will then shell out $200,000 a piece.
It doesn't matter what they do with them now. The vehicles have served their primary function, making defense contractors rich.
I like Gates closing comment. To add, at the end of previous wars we had an abundance of jeeps. Those certainly made their way into mainstream America. Why not these. If people can drive Hummers, why not these.
we aren't mature enough for some vehicles =(
They don't drive Military Hummers, those are not sold and crushed. None of these vehicles comply with road safety requirements.
CARMAX
Sounds like the city of Seattle could use some.... Oh that's right CNN didn't report on the OWS riots did they.
FYI, the handful of people arrested in Seattle were not a part of Occupy. They referred to themselves as “Black Bloc Anarchists." Occupy Wall Street preaches purely peaceful protests.
12 out of 200000 protesters get arrested and the whole movement is bad.
Yet every time a cop kills a minority it's just a "bad apple."
They actually look like they'd be pretty good vehicles for storm chasing
Looks like a heck of a storm shelter. Wondering if Fire Departments in large cities would have any use for these.
Trust me. We'll need these for the zombie apocalypse.
Exactly!'
I was going to call everyones attention to the coming zombie apocalypse, but good to see someone else is thinking ahead. 🙂
These might change the face of Monster Truck Jams forever.
...or even the Rapture or the Mayan 2012 Jamboree.
One is left wondering what forty billion dollars worth of research into altrnative energy could have produced. The people that are leading our country...are they really the best minds we can put forward to make this world a better place?
How long will it be before people stand up and say no more to costly wars?
I can't understand why Canada's own NDP and the Green Party of Canada were all for the war in Libya. Even these groups could not figure out that they were being led down the garden path by the military machine. They fell for the "framing"of the issue.
We need a whole new way to solve conflicts. They must be stopped long before war is even in sight. We do that by treating people fairly around the world. Not by giving them grain only when they agree to vot one way or the other in the UN.
We need a whole new way of thinking.
Otherwise.......... we are never going to have peace.
It is time for a intelligent and peaceful revolution by the people in all parts of the world.
Meanwhile, the idiots of Islam are planning another attach on US interests...
Good talk which will never work. Man cannot control man. Man needs God. Only He can control him. When we reject God man behave like gods.
Because I am God
What would you suggest if america was attacked, sit down and hand out flowers?
I guess you would look quite attractive in a Burqa.
Go tell the Muslim fundaementalists to stop making war, you would not be coming back from that trip.
Maybe sell the vehicles to Armoured Car companies.
Well, you could give a couple of thousand of them to Isriel? You could park several hundred of them in the Southeast USA to use for Huricane cleanup. I like one of the other comments. Trade some of them back to the government of Iraq for a few ships full of oil, but ony after they have given us several ships of oil to pay us back for thier freedom that we were fighting for.
Yes....... Clayton's comments are the kind of thinking that scares the daylights out of me. It is a reflection of the education system....... but that works well for the military........keep the people dumb enough so that they don't ask questions......... keep them working like slaves to pay taxes to fund the military machine...making a few people filthy rich.
They didn't ask us to invade Iraq........
Give one to Rep.West so he can go commie hunting. Rep. Walsh should have one to protect himself from his ex who wants back child support.they can rename it the Teabagolet or Demintilac
It comes standard with a vaginal ulra sound probe
Those who do "vagina soliloquies," may find a use.
o LOL! I laughed so hard!
Unlike you, Rep. West served in the miltiary to include service in Iraq.
Fit them with hydraulics and turn them into snow plows. Bet they'd have excellent traction in heavy weather. A couple or three of those things running in echelon could clear a northern runway or an interstate highway quick as lightning.
And destroy the highway with their weight while at it.
Sell some to those people you see on that show "Preppers" I bet those people would buy a few thousand anyways. For the rest, maybe Israel would be interested.
Arbitrary Zombie comment*
keep them... we will likely be facing IEDs in future conflicts.
Weld them together, bumper-to-bumper, to make a border fence along the US/Mexico border... but leave the doors open. Then when a republican takes office as President, we can shut the doors. Another Democrat? Open the doors... PERFECT!
That is pure genius!!!
Best comment ever
I'm sure the NYPD will try to buy one – or ten.
Seriously, there are people worried about the costs of these vehicles? Gates had to twist Pentagon arms to push them into production? With the billions of $$$ thrown away to Halliburton alone should make this a non-issue in itself. The entire Iran conflict was a waste of money with no ROI now or ever in the future. I suppose killing Bin Laden justifies Afghanistan but it's time to be out of there and leave the entire Middle East to fall back into the Bronze Ages, where they want to be.
Whatsnaname, I believe you meant "Iraq conflict" as we have never officially gone into Iran to fight.
I'd argue that if Afganistan was "justified" because we killed Bin Laden, then Iraq was as well because we captured Saddam Hussein and he was put on trial and executed. Other "terrorist" leaders, cells and training facilities have also been found and destroyed across both countries, which is only a good thing for a better feeling of security for us and our allies.
Osama was responsible for the deaths of over 3000 people in America. Saddam tried to assasinate George SR., I don't think an attempted assasination should be raised to the same level as mass murder.
Send them to Norfolk Virginia
http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2012/05/beating-church-and-brambleton
I will take one...protecting my family from those texting idiots on their phones while driving...
For as long as you can afford the diesel bill, sure. Lol.
I hear mexico has a growing insurgency....
If scraped, park them end to end along the mexican border and fill with concrete.
money well spent our troops deserve the best.
Better give them to the police, so they are safe patrolling our highways in a few years.
How about selling them to the public in the USA? There are certainly enough Tea-Partiers and right wing wackos in this country who would sense a need to buy one for "protection" as they drive around their local town. After all, there was and is a market for the Hummer. There is no doubt there is a thriving paranoid demographic in the USA that would buy these things.
Great post
Zombie apocalypse... Also should tear them apart and use them to create affordable recycled housing.
http://earthship.com/
This couple probably wishes they would have had one
http://hamptonroads.com.nyud.net/2012/05/beating-church-and-brambleton
Hummers were sold to civilians because of the image, not because of some paranoid desire for protection. In fact, the reason we have MRAPs is the lack of protection offered by the Hummv. And if I could afford one I'd definitely buy an MRAP on the civilian market because it's a cool vehicle and an interesting part of American history.
Nah they'll be using them on the public in a few years, so they wouldn't do that
We should sell as many as we can to our allies.. Israel comes to mind.
I agree, then we can recoup some of the billions in monetary aid we send them each year by selling them stuff we don't need anymore.
1. So Michael Shapiro does any country other than Israel ever come to your mind?
2. Israel already gets enough of my tax dollars.
3. Israel already has enough heavy equipment–equipment they use to destroy Palestinian homes.
4. If Israel wasn't our "ally" we wouldn't have needed these things in the first place.
Use them as school buses in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, etc.
Don't forget that Iran is just around the corner....
Jesse in Texas
Our town needs one for the park. the little children need too see what it took for them too play in peace. and if its right in front of them they will? think of how fun for them to check out. yes I know unsafe, you can weld the doors open and it can be made fairly safe. mom and dad can tell the short rounds they're story, just like the WW2 gen did. I still remember the fire in dads eyes when we looked at a twin 3 inch 50 in our park. want too bet the goverment moves to scrape these fast. the sooner we forget the leaders who got us into this mess the better for them! but sadly the sooner we will forget the Heros who got us out of it.
We'll need them for the Zombie Apocolypse.
If I can get one cheap enough, I can use it as a camper.
Garbage they wouldn't last in a real war where people can fight Back
clearly you know nothing.
Glad you said it, Rick
Junk them ALL
Rubbish....they need to junk all of the up-armored Hummers before they get rid of the MRPAs. If another conflict broke out next year, ground troops would have nothing.
"Death Race !!!"
give me one. that thing will be sweet during the zombie apocalypse
great for the zombie invasion or a trip to the mall.
I say clean them up and puth them in storage in the desert until we need them again. I could see selling some to city / county bomb squads. I see no reason to destroy them as we will only need them again. We have a bad habit of getting rid of things think we don't need them anymore and then boom we need them.
The Military Industrial Complex is alive and well, what else do you expect? Dick Cheney was a former Halliburton CEO and they've RAKED IT IN since the war started. Coincidence? Eisenhower warned us in his farewell speech of the massive growing defense expenditures as a result of fighting WWII, a war that changed us dramatically since. But we didn't heed his warning to contain it, we only expanded on it. Today, you see contractors coming out of the woodwork to cook, wash laundry, and deliver fuel for the war effort. When war is this profitable you will continue to see it happen. Why else do you think Bush and his regime fabricated intelligence about WMDs? Because he was bored and wanted something to do? The US spends more on Defense (ironic considering we invade more than we defend) than ANY other area of government spending, and the GOP would like it to stay that way. If Romney the panderer gets the Oval Office this November, you can bet your panties war will continue.
I live in Oshkosh, WI where these and other vehicles are produced. Let me tell you there is a stock pile here. There has to be thousands of these vehicles all around the city in different lots just sitting around. Our local airport is lined with them all the way down the runway a few rows deep.
Man, that will make a great zombie-proof vehicle when the world ends...lol, I'll buy one.
Wonder how much Cheney & Bush would have profited from the manufacturers of these monster trucks.
You mean, HAVE profited over all these scrap metal MRAPS.
Same thing they did with all those bombers and ships after WWII and cannons after the Civil War, I imagine.
Gates attitude was the right one. Whether or not the war was justified or not, taking care of your troops is number one priority. Police forces, Sheriff's departments, bomb squads and the INS could all find good uses for them and that'll take care of about 1500.. The rest mothball for future use.
I guarantee you bring these back to the US and have surplus sales on them, there will be plenty of people willing to spend $20K to $40K+ to own one. Problem is, it'll likely cost that much to ship them back. Better to drive them to Europe, Middle East and Asia bases and have them used there.
That would be a return of what – a million'th of a percent?
At the low end of that range, $20K, selling all 22K vehicles would gross 440 million dollars, or roughly 1% of the original $40 billion or so original cost.
Seriously, mate, the math isn't that hard...
You right! There's 20,000 of them. Excuuuuuussse me.
Hit me up guys, I'd like to buy one!
Me too, just the thing for taking a stroll down main street in Detroit.
I remember the U.S. dumping helicopters into the ocean at the end of the war in Vietnam.
How many planes and tanks were scraped after WWII and Korea?
There are people in Washington now or want to be in Washington that are just dieing to invade Iran in the near future.
Will we scrap these vehicles and then blow billions on new ones?
I guess just as long as the right people are making the money no war is too dumb to start.
Moth ball them. obummer will find another war to get us in. if they sell them or destroy them then they follow what they always do, WASTE, WASTE, WASTE!!! Give them to NG and send them to protect borders. Utilize them for home defense. Maybe it's overkill with such an armored vehicle but at least were using them for a purpose. However, knowing politicians, they'll sell them to the very enemies we used them against. Just like obummer is doing with this agreement he made with Afghanisan and the taliban,,, how stupid can a government get.
How stupid can YOU get? Bush got us into this war!
I don't usually argue with somebody with no ammunition, but Obama is in the process of getting us out and keeping us out of the wars the previous administrations got us into. It's weird how hate can cloud all reason.
Really? Obama got us into this war? Right, it had nothing to do with Bush and his delusions of WMDs.
WHAAAAAAAT?
It is interesting to hear Islamic terrorism is delusion. A sound< "cannabie," thought.
Might want to remember history a little clearer there J. Obama didn't start these wars, An idiot deserter Named George Bush started them. Then couldn't find the person response able for the reason to have the wars to begin with, so Obama was in Office when the troops found the bad guy. Also you might want to do a little fact check to see which administration has been behind the most caught or killed bad guys.
That's funny considering Obama has done nothing but gradually REMOVE the US from the wars, not get us into new ones. Are you this stupid naturally or did it take years of practice to get this good?
Bush got us in, Obama has been getting us out. Troop drawdown in both countries, a removal by 2014 in Afghanistan. M0-ron.
J, what "war" did our current President ever get us into? Are you so diluted in political rhetoric that you don't know real historical facts?
Last time I read a history book, Bush Sr and Dubya Jr got us into the wars in both Iraq and Afganistan that your so upset about us wasting all our money in.
The closest war Obama got us into was when we helped Libya get rid of Gadaffi, even then we didn't officially "go to war" but provided resources for a short time.
Now as for improper government spending, I agree, but you must learn one additional thing:
MONEY BUDGETING AND EXPENDITURE is not controlled by the President. That is main job function of Congress, the House and Senate are the ones controlling the purse strings, all a President can do is propose things and veto things to some extent. So, don't blame Obama for our devbt, both Democrats, Republicans and others in Congress are the reason we are $14+ trillion in debt.
Again, if you want to argue, what about the cost of the wars the "President" started, I have to go back to the first fact you got to learn in this post.
Will I vote for Obama in 2012? I don't know, I haven't researched enough on both parties candidates to make that decision yet. I definitely won't vote for or against someone just because I'm a sheeple following whatever the koolaid tells me to...
Thank you!! Finally someone with some sense for a change...Stop blaming Obama or any president for everything!! Try blaming the real criminals...CONGRESS!!! they are the ones dragging this country down and into oblivion because they are only there for themselves and not the American People.
Oh J, Dude, the NG they aren't ON the border the Border Patrol is on the border. Sooooo, they would be the ones that would receive them in your little brain. But!!! They really don't need those, something lighter maybe, but NOT those. Try and keep up and PRESIDENT Obama didn't order those cheesecake brain.
Any bomb squad would love to have one.
those that are too bad to be fixed and stored could become future artificial reefs off of any of our coasts.
AND – I'll take one for dealing with ATL's Friday traffic.
It's a sunk cost. We will never recover the cost put into them, so unless they can actually be used for something, scrap them or sell them as surplus. The cost of maintaining them if they're just going to be 'hangar queens' far outweighs the cost of scrapping or selling them. Humans have a very poor concept of 'letting go' of things. "But we spent so much money on these! We need to do something with them!" Unless we can get that money spent back, get over it and do what's cheapest for us taxpayers. 😛
they have already paid for themselves by saving lives even 1 life saved would be worth the cost
I agree, look at all the ships and planes from WW2, scrap them and start over. Donate to large city police departments, sell one to Dilbert Smith to put in his aviation and war museum in Mcminnville Or. He could add it to the Boeing 747 water slide.
I'll buy one
No worries, we'll find another war soon enough. We always have; we always will. And so it goes....
40 billion = 20000= 2 million each wow
I don't like the tone of this story. If we consentreate on this problem, it will make it harder in the future for our government to put their necks out to make a quick and dire decision. What's more important, our soldiers lives, or storage space?
want to save usa lives......stop invading muslim countries and policing the world.........otherwise just keep taking it.
Or we could just start killing them all instead.
I take offense at Gates calling our troops "kids". I think it was Bush Sr. that started that. He means no harm, but these men and women are not kids in any sense of the word. They are anywhere from 18 to 40 something. They are brave adults. Many have families. They are highly trained and skilled at their chosen specialty. If you call the troops kids, then it's also correct to call our police, fire, and EMT's kids too, which is clearly is not right.
They've always been mentioned in those types of terms because they are somebody's kids. Lighten up, it was meant in a way that intones that we want to have these men and women be safe. My kids are still gonna be my kids when they're in their 30s-40s. Get over yourself.
Come On..it's so obvious that he did not mean this as any kind of insult. It's folks like you that are just way too sensitive and looking for any reason to get insulted over the dumbest thing. Not to mention that Robert Gates is 70 years old. To him anyone between 18 and 40ish IS a kid.
They were pumping these out of the Oshkosh factory like crazy here in Wisconsin. I did hear about a slow down a few months ago. Looks like they were overproduced. Very impressive fortress on wheels however.
I say some of them could be given to Police forces around the USA.. SWAT teams, bomb squads. Though places like NYC would have difficulty with such a beast navigating Downtown. But if there was a need for it, I could see clearing the streets enough to get it done.
Just because we didn't need Liberty Ships after WWII doesn't mean they weren't really important.
Every war/conflict is different so things designed and used successfully in one may not be serviceable in any other. Keep some active for the Engineering units, sell some to other countries, put a few in museums and the majority keep in reserve. If they are needed again their available to bring back to active service. In the future if we determine they can not be used again, thank them for the invaluable service they gave to our troops and recycle them so they can contribute to the new equipment.
We have just committed to another 12 years in Afghanistan which is an active war zone with similar warfare protection needs. I understand that these are too heavy for mountain areas, but there is a dire need in protecting civilians in cities and villages not just the mountain areas. I believe the Army just want to buy new gadgets not really thinking about their responsibility for this huge expense. Give it to Afghanistan police and army!
last time I checked, we are leaving Afghanistan by 2014, not in 12 years. Unless I'm missing your point.
Supposed to be by 2014, however President O just signed us up for another 10 years in the country "training" people after 2014. Please try to pay attention
Training won't see a need for 20000+ MRAPs. Plus in the article it says they are too big for most Afghanistan missions. Most of these mothballed MRAPs are from Iraq.
sell them to countries that still have problems with old minefields.
Like Iran and Sudan?. Police forces in the US , INS for border work.
Foreign Military Sales. There are military dictatorships all over the world.
That ALWAYS comes back to bite you.1/2 of the 'modern weapons' Iran possesses came from US sales.
Why not keep some for now and sell some to the afgans and Iraqis, something tells me IED arnt going away just because we are.
Because Afghanistan and Iraq couldn't repair them. They are very technical and the parts are exspensive. These vehicles are providing a wonderful service in Afghanistan becuase of modifications which allow them to go over rough terain.
Comming to a roadside near you, complete with TSA logos,
Yep, that's probably not far from the truth.
These look useful to survive the zombie apocalypse on 12/12/2012
Don't be ridiculous. It's 12/21/2012.
they will always be needed. we need to need to store 15k of them for later uses
These vehicles should be stored, the world knows this one basic fact, don't get into a traditional force on force fight with the United States. You will lose...period!!! The alternative is to fight the insurgent fight. Hide among the masses and take pot shots at the security forces. These vehicles are for that kind of fighting, let alone a relief mission. Sell them, give them away, or scrap them and the next time you need them, AND YOU WILL, we will just have to purchase them again.
Nice to see a military program being fielded rapidly AND that was so successful in savings lives. Sadly I don't think this is the last time we will be involved in something in the middle east and the MRAP may well be put to use again.
It was nice seeing the fielding, unfortunantly greed came into the mix with the Varients. As an Army guy, I have to give thanks to the USMC who came up with the design need and got it fielded. The MATVs the Marines got are better that the Armys versions...in my opinion. The Army had to "Army-ize" it....make it its own style thus adding to a higher cost instead of just buying what the Marines fought for. Much of the Army's equipment was changed, but similar to the USMC...body armor, uniforms...etc..some stuff bettter...much of it worse than the USMCs equipment.
The Ultimate Demolition Derby Event of all time.
I will take one. I've been looking for a good vehicle that I would feel safe leaving my carry weapon in while I'm at work.
Couldn't we donate a few of these to the Iraqis and the Afghanis? It'd help bolster their security forces.
On a related note, we could also use these to help decommission minefields worldwide.
So we'll end up spending more money to "protect an investment" which will just mean we're not prepared for the next war because we're blowing this year's budget maintaining crap from the last war.
CNN has blessed us with another insipid column by a writer with nothing to do.
What will the Pentagon do with these vehicles? Some will be sold privately. Some will be left to rot where they are. The rest will be used in the invasion of Iran, starting soon in a nightmare near you.
NORRIS.....I AGREE! This is Just what I have been looking for. Good to make the get away. Then off to the hold out spot. If you all haven't read the Zombie Survival Guide, you need to pick up a copy. All solutions can be applied to real life 😉
Why not keep them so that the military doesn't find themselves unprepared the next time they go to war? Mines and IED's are not limited only to Middle East conflicts.
The Canadian's may piss us off.
Have to grab those tar sands, eh?
Yes yes by all means spend money on our troupes to save their lives. What is more em-portent MONEY or the life of our fighting men an woman. When the con flick is over an then we have all the materials just sitting around be great full we had the money to spend on our solders. Don't allow our selves to worry about what we spent, it went for a live saving cause.
The MRAPs may come in handy back on the streets of US cities as riot control vehicles as the US economy continues to destabilize. I'm sure Americans will come to love them. At least the wealthiest Americans will, that is.
Well said.
Pfft. More class warfare drones. Don't we all aspire to wealth? To have just a little more than we absolutely need. Remember when it was OK to be well off? I wonder why it is that the talking heads and leadership on the left keep talking to us about how terrible the wealthy are when they are so often wealthy? They screech about eating the rich while gathering wealth for themselves and keeping the poor on the dole.
Coming to a police department near you.........
Save them. "There will be wars and rumors of wars for as long as the earth shall last."
Billary Clingon scrapped an amount of military equipment and trained personnel (in the name of "balancing" the budget). Next thing we knew we were headed into a war in Afghanistan, and we had to rebuild all those humvees, ammo and all the other stuff – but before we got to it, a lot of soldiers were killed and wounded.
So, they need to properly mothball this equipment and keep it ready for the next war.
And I suppose your car will last forever too? give me a break, nothing lasts forever...oh wait, why don't we use a WWII mustang to fight our air battles
Donate some of them to police departments so they can safely patrol in the big city ghettos.
See if Brinks or Wells Fargo will buy them. They would make great armored trucks. Attn Military: Send me the commission checks. You know where to find me.
Sell them to local police departments .. even at $5,000 .. gov't takes in $10 million, gets rid of the problem, local PD's get cheap vehicles they may need someday
How about lending them on a permeant basis to the police departments, under the requirements that the department performs the maintenance on them, and stores them. Then when the military needs them back they can request it back for active duty. Police get a good vehicle for dangerous situations for free, and the storage problem is solved.
I'd buy one
Should have up-armored the Cadilac Gage commando V-100; It was one bad A$$ vehicle and could operate in rough terrain. Id like one of those too! Sell em to the Mexican police they seem to be out gunned.
Take the weapons off and I will buy one. That would be great for LA traffic...
Seriously, I want one. I can find a place for it in the barn.
Me 2
Where can private investors purchase one? I'd like to have one for MY homeland security...
Forty billion here, forty billion there.
I will take 1 please
Trade them to the sand people for oil
me likes cheese and me wants one of those jeep thangs
Perfect Zombie Apocalypse vehicle. Bring it on....
please send me two...
I know what I want for Christmas!
There's always Iran!!!!!!!!! Hahahahahahahaha