Surge-military could buy nearly 4,000 additional mine-resistant vehicles

[The Straight Story]

Surge will include thousands of mine-resistant vehicles


As it prepares to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. military could buy nearly 4,000 additional mine-resistant all-terrain vehicles than currently on order.

During testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the military may need as many as 10,000 of the M-ATVs, which were designed for Afghanistan's rugged terrain.

The Pentagon has already tapped Oshkosh Corp. to build 6,219 of the vehicles by April. With production runs expected to hit 1,000 vehicles a month, it appears the firm could produce the additional vehicles by August or September.

Gates first indicated that more M-ATVs would likely be needed if more troops were deployed into Afghanistan during a trip to Oshkosh's Wisconsin production facility last month.

"The M-ATV's lighter weight, independent suspension system and greater off-road mobility is well-suited to Afghanistan's rugged terrain and will make a real difference in our operations there," he said during the trip.

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=44173&dcn=todaysnews

[Arctic Dave]

1. Hahahahaha. You want healthcare? Too bad, suck on it liberals.

[Jamastiene]

2. That seems to be the message. n/t

[Bozita]

3. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense,..

... a theft from those who are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.”
--Ike in Address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16, 1953