Delayed delivery of trucks led to Marine deaths.

[Bustem' Down]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hundreds of U.S. Marines have been killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq because Marine Corps bureaucrats refused an urgent request in 2005 from battlefield commanders for blast-resistant vehicles, an internal military study concludes.


Mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks can cost between $450,000 and $1 million.

The study was written by a civilian Marine Corps official and obtained by The Associated Press.

It accuses the service of "gross mismanagement" that delayed deliveries of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected trucks for more than two years.

Cost was a driving factor in the decision to turn down the request for the MRAPs, according to the study.

Stateside authorities saw the hulking vehicles, which can cost as much as a $1 million each, as a financial threat to programs aimed at developing lighter vehicles that were years from being fielded.

Study: Delayed delivery of trucks led to Marine deaths - CNN.com

Beautiful spin. Had the Marine Corp actually bought them, they would have been screaming from the rafters over the increased Defense budget.

 

[RadioPatrol]

ya cannot win with the AntiWar Crowd


besides a Hummer is a 5 1/4 ton PU basically ..... not a frigg'in tank ..... the whole up armored Hummer argument is DISingenious


these insurgents have destroyed M1's nad Bradley's with IED's .... you patrol with bigger vehicles they'll just pile up more explosives ........ not heartless, just a fact of life ........ until you kill enough insurgents and make it so bloody and expensive for them, they are not going to give up, there will always be some chicken #### towel head willing to pile explosives up and try to blow up a tank

 

[Bustem' Down]

ya cannot win with the AntiWar Crowd


besides a Hummer is a 5 1/4 ton PU basically ..... not a frigg'in tank ..... the whole up armored Hummer argument is ingenious


these insurgents have destroyed M1's nad Bradley's with IED's .... you patrol with bigger vehicles they'll just pile up more explosives ........ not heartless, just a fact of life ........ until you kill enough insurgents and make it so bloody and expensive for them, they are not going to give up, there will always be some chicken #### towel head willing to pile explosives up and try to blow up a tank

That's the problem, you cannot make it too bloody or expensive. You're still thinking like we are fighting another state. Making it more bloody or less bloody will not change thier MO or thier philosophy. You cannot win something like this with bullets, frankly, I think we need to dump more money into things like the CIA.

 

[Toreadoralpha]

Call it asymmetrical warfare, guerilla warfare, whatever you like, but we have not lately been good at that. For many reasons. Most importantly it is war, not a police action, or simple occupation.

Let me say that, we are there, and how we ended up there is, to me, a matter for the history books.

I lost a very dear friend in Iraq in the summer of 2006. His name was Cpl. Matt Wallace, and he was from here in Lexington Park MD. He lost his life in this war, and now lies in Arlington with some of the best and bravest our country will ever know.

I supported him, and I still support all of our troops fighting on behalf of our country. I believe it is impossible on any level to say that you support the troops, but not their mission. The mission they have been given is a very tough one, but only made more difficult by those that undermine their efforts back here at home.

I believe that our military commanders should be given all the power and authority required to accomplish their mission. I believe that when at war, make the enemy know that we will go to any lenght to win, no matter what the cost.

Most Americans have not had to deal with any serious change to their lifestyle, or had any serious reprecussions from this war, other than enduring the news about it. I feel that because of that, many, if not most, Americans don't have the will to win this war and therefore do not pressure our government to pull out all the stops and commence no holds barred warfare.

To all those that serve our country in our military, thank you, God Bless you and keep you. May your sacrifices not be in vain, and your country not be ungrateful.

 

[cwo_ghwebb]

The Socialist response to this war is in direct proportion to their degree of BDS. It's a sad day when one political party, so pissed their hero was impeached, disbarred and his legacy diminished to a stain on a dress, retaliates by opposing the next President.

Their angst is misguided. President Bush's legacy will be determined by historians long after we're dead and gone. As will Clinton's legacy. President Bush's legacy will not affect Clinton's legacy and vice versa, get over it.

But to see the Socialists put their party ahead of the country is despicable (and I'm feeling kind, it is Sunday after all).

 

[RadioPatrol]

That's the problem, you cannot make it too bloody or expensive. You're still thinking like we are fighting another state. Making it more bloody or less bloody will not change thier MO or thier philosophy. You cannot win something like this with bullets, frankly, I think we need to dump more money into things like the CIA.

I'll buy that for $100 Million

 

[nhboy]

Marines halt study critical of MRAP program

"WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps has ordered a civilian scientist to stop work on a report critical of its efforts to obtain new armored vehicles, saying he exceeded his authority, a Marine official said Tuesday.

Franz Gayl, a retired Marine officer and civilian science adviser, alleged in a Jan. 22 report that "gross mismanagement" of the program to quickly field Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles had resulted in the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of Marines in Iraq. Gayl had planned to

"He's been told to stop any further work," said Col. David Lapan, a Marine spokesman. "It's gotten beyond its initial purpose."

Lapan said Gayl exceeded his authority by writing about MRAPs because the proposal that requested the report never specifically mentioned the new armored vehicles by name."

Marines halt study critical of MRAP program - USATODAY.com

 

[RadioPatrol]

it is referred to these days as 4G or 4th Generation Warfare as well


I am sorry you lost your friend .........

 

[RadioPatrol]

Yeah MRAP s fr5om 6 different contractors compounding the supply of replacement parts .......


http://forums.somd.com/politics/129723-biden-playing-politics-marine-lives.html

 

[forestal]

Dead marines as being part of the Anti-war crowd?

Wherever do you get your notions?

ya cannot win with the AntiWar Crowd


besides a Hummer is a 5 1/4 ton PU basically ..... not a frigg'in tank ..... the whole up armored Hummer argument is DISingenious


these insurgents have destroyed M1's nad Bradley's with IED's .... you patrol with bigger vehicles they'll just pile up more explosives ........ not heartless, just a fact of life ........ until you kill enough insurgents and make it so bloody and expensive for them, they are not going to give up, there will always be some chicken #### towel head willing to pile explosives up and try to blow up a tank

 

[RadioPatrol]

Dead marines as being part of the Anti-war crowd?

Wherever do you get your notions?

:shrug: - WTF are you talking about .... explain please