Army may cut order of MRAPs

[unhappycamper]

Army may cut order of MRAPs
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA Today
Posted : Monday Dec 10, 2007 7:57:15 EST

BAGHDAD — The Army, which rushed to get new armored vehicles into Iraq after being criticized for moving slowly to protect soldiers from roadside bombs, probably won’t need 10,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles because of improved security, a top commander said.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 commander in Iraq, said the Army will use a mix of Humvees and the new MRAPs. Odierno, interviewed in Combat Outpost Banche in south Baghdad, said he needed more feedback from Army units on MRAPs before commanders decide on a final number.

“I owe the Army a number,” he said.

Odierno’s assessment comes after the Marines announced Nov. 30 that they would cut plans to order 3,700 of the vehicles by 1,400.

Fighting in Iraq was at its worst when the Pentagon announced in May that it was embarking on its huge MRAP program, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates called its top priority. The vehicle’s raised chassis and V-shaped hull provide better protection from roadside bombs.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/12/gns_armymraps_071210/