Gates says moved by tour of bomb-proof trucks - Yahoo! News

GOOSE CREEK, South Carolina (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates took a first-hand look on Friday at the production of bomb-resistant vehicles for U.S. troops, saying the lives they were saving in Iraq and Afghanistan made it an emotional issue for him.

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Gates made the vehicles the Pentagon's top priority last year in a bid to reduce high U.S. military casualties in Iraq from insurgents using roadside bombs known as improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.

The $22 billion program has already saved lives among U.S. service members in Iraq, who previously were sometimes forced to weld scrap metal to the sides of their thinly armored Humvees for protection.

"There were a couple of times today when I was a little overwhelmed," the 64-year-old defense chief said after touring the Navy installation near Charleston, South Carolina, where the sand-colored trucks, personnel carriers and patrol vehicles are outfitted.

Unlike his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, Gates personally writes to the families of dead troops and quickly made it a top Pentagon priority to get the better-protected trucks.

"There have been so many aspects of this war where government and others have been subject to criticism. This is something that really went right," he said.

The facility has shipped out 2,225 Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles, or MRAPs, in less than a year. The vehicles have a V-shaped hull that disperses the deadly force of roadside bombs.

The IED has proved to be the deadliest insurgent weapon to date against the U.S. military, which has lost 4,395 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan overall.

The Pentagon requirement is for 15,374 MRAPs, despite indications that falling violence levels in Iraq have reduced demand for the vehicles.

Gates said MRAPs will be needed beyond U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan because IEDs have shown themselves to be cheap and effective insurgent weapons.

"My guess is once our needs are met, there will be other countries that will be interested in acquiring these vehicles as well," he said.



it took less then a year to get the DUKW and that was a hell of alot harder then this thing at the time

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Cussing out low class inbreds isnt uninteligent, its honest

Good typing is not inteligent its dexiteritous.

Everything you just said is total bullshit

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.


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Ive never ridden in an MRAP but Ive seen em around. Looks likes a souped up suburban. Completely worthless in my opinion, they should just mass produce strykers, theres absolutely nothing wrong with them.

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The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of liberalism they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.

Norman Thomas

Oh you are biased.

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The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.
- Jack Handy

Those fuckign tin cans dont have anything more then 14 mm Armor. Nothing will stop a an AT mine from ruing your day.

Heres a couple of Haji's little party tapes about strikers.
YouTube - Ied Striker

Thes quite a few of these.

You will not fare welll when one of those things goes of under any IFV. A large enough IED will throw an Abrams into the Air. These trucks offer very little assistnance and no doubt and large monetary price. They are also 5 years to fucking late.

__________________
Cussing out low class inbreds isnt uninteligent, its honest

Good typing is not inteligent its dexiteritous.

Everything you just said is total bullshit

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.


To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.