Duty Honor Country
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Here is a piece fresh from USA TODAY It has a good amount of insight for this thread.
Army late with orders for armored Humvees
By Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — In June 2003, the U.S. Army realized that it didn't have enough armored Humvees in Iraq to protect soldiers from a growing number of attacks by insurgents. By Friday, officials expect to correct that problem by having almost 22,000 armored Humvees in Iraq — up from 235 when the war began.
A Marine stands in front of an armored Humvee hit by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, Iraq, in November.
Why did it take the government almost two years to remedy a deficiency that the Army acknowledges was costing soldiers' lives?
An examination of Army records, correspondence with members of Congress and Pentagon documents shows that the military repeatedly underestimated the need for more armored Humvees. Even after recognizing its miscalculations, the Army was slow to order more armored Humvees, and then transported them to Iraq from its existing worldwide supply in fits and starts. Officials also failed to take full advantage of a defense contracting firm that says it could have increased production to meet the Army's needs...
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Army late with orders for armored Humvees
By Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — In June 2003, the U.S. Army realized that it didn't have enough armored Humvees in Iraq to protect soldiers from a growing number of attacks by insurgents. By Friday, officials expect to correct that problem by having almost 22,000 armored Humvees in Iraq — up from 235 when the war began.
A Marine stands in front of an armored Humvee hit by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, Iraq, in November.
Why did it take the government almost two years to remedy a deficiency that the Army acknowledges was costing soldiers' lives?
An examination of Army records, correspondence with members of Congress and Pentagon documents shows that the military repeatedly underestimated the need for more armored Humvees. Even after recognizing its miscalculations, the Army was slow to order more armored Humvees, and then transported them to Iraq from its existing worldwide supply in fits and starts. Officials also failed to take full advantage of a defense contracting firm that says it could have increased production to meet the Army's needs...
READ MORE