Except, of course, that actually making that many more vehicles in the next six months is probably nigh unto impossible. But hey he got a talking point out of it.
Duly noted. See post update.
We should have started making these things three years ago so that they'd have them by now. Props to Biden for at least getting things done.
It's the USMC that decided to abandon Humvees and buy MRAPs. They are blast testing them at Aberdeen and ordering from companies who pass the testing. The Army has the most troops, and therefore the lead role 'in theater'--and is still resistant to change from uparmored Humvees. They love standardization, so any new vehicles throw their supply chain off. In fact, they said they will not get off Humvees until they review proposals and award the JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) program, where they intend to replace the current design Humvee in 2010. They're still looking at up-armored vehicles, based on their LTAS (Long Term Armoring Strategy). The Army needs to look long & hard at MRAP vehicles and embrace them--NOW. This is the future of warfare.
The Army doesn't just have a larger mechanized footprint, they have a much larger armor footprint than the Marines as well. The Army is already a much heavier force than the Marine Corps. Which means that the Army's need for the MRAP is less than the Marine's need.
The future of warfare? Maybe but probably not. The MRAP will definitely be useful in the current war in Iraq. Will it be more useful in future wars? Probably not. In the future we won't make the strategic mistakes (like too few soldiers in country) that lead to the insurgency in the first place.
Commenting by HaloScan
