U.S. mine-resistant truck vulnerable to rollovers

[elehhhhna]

July 24, 2008, 5:38AM
U.S. mine-resistant truck vulnerable to rollovers


By RICHARD LARDNER
Associated Press

MRAP accident caught on video WASHINGTON — The towering trucks that give U.S. troops the best protection against roadside bombs and enemy bullets also make them vulnerable to routine hazards like sharp turns, rutted roads and rickety bridges.

Five deaths caused by rollovers and dozens of other accidents in Iraq and Afghanistan have led U.S. military leaders to warn troops to be smart behind the wheel, according to military documents obtained by The Associated Press and accident reports released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The message is especially relevant in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has boosted demand for these steel cocoons, known as MRAPs. Due to the country's mountainous terrain and unpaved roads, officials will send nearly 800 more RG-31s, the smallest of several different MRAPs the military now uses.

Yet even at a comparatively nimble nine tons, the RG-31 is not immune from tipping. On June 29, three Green Berets drowned when theirs rolled into a canal in southern Afghanistan. The accident is under investigation.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/5904880.html

[Squatch]

1. That's what happens when you fast-track a combat system into FRP

with only a couple hundred million per year in initial RDT&E.

[predfan]

2. You know, none of this was ever supposed to happen, IMO.

Cheney's friends in the oil business wanted the Iraqi oil fields reopened to them, and that wasn't going to happen with Saddam in power.

Chalibi not only told them what they wanted to hear about the "candy and roses", but they paid him to say it.

There was never any "plan B" because they never expected to need it, disregarding any evidence to the contrary.

Incompetent war criminals.