Army To Buy More MRAPs For Iraq, Afghanistan

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
ArmyTimes.com
March 12, 2008 By Matthew Cox, Staff writer
The Army’s top civilian leader told lawmakers Wednesday that the service will buy more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles than planned — exactly the opposite direction of the Marine Corps, which has decided to cut its MRAP inventory.
Testifying before members of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said the Army will field 10,000 heavily armored MRAPs to Iraq and Afghanistan by the end of the year and is considering increasing the fleet to as many as 15,000.
“We are still fine-tuning the final number,” Geren said, explaining the Army’s plans to have 11,500 in theater by mid-February.
Geren’s comments came after Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., asked if the Army planned to follow the Marine’s recent decision to scale back its MRAP purchases by 40 percent. The hearing focused on the Army’s $141 billion request in the president’s proposed budget for fiscal 2009.
Geren added that only one soldier has been killed in the 48 enemy attacks on MRAPs involving bombs made with deadly, explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs.
“The MRAPs have performed very well,” Geren said. “The Army will not drop below the 10,000 we already have programmed; we will likely go above that.”
 
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