Sure, I was a treadhead, but even I know the Army needs wheels. And wheeled vehicles, specifically the Humvees and Strykers, have certainly been in the news as a result of their participation in the Iraqi theater. Let’s check the latest, shall we?
U.S. Commanders Seek More Armored Humvees
For the fifth time in the past year, U.S. commanders running the war in Iraq have told the Army to send more armored Humvee utility vehicles to protect U.S. troops.
Just as the Army was reaching its target of 8,279 factory-built armored Humvees for delivery to Iraq, U.S. Central Command last month raised the bar again, to 10,079, Army officials disclosed Tuesday.
The Army has been accused by many in Congress of lagging behind in providing armor protection for troops, hundreds of whom have been killed or wounded in ambushes and roadside bombs in Iraq. The Army says it has pressed the vehicle manufacturer for as many as possible, and it has been chasing a moving target set initially at 1,407 by commanders in Iraq in August 2003.
When the war began in March 2003, few might have imagined that the all-purpose Humvee, the modern version of the unarmored Jeep, would need to be reinforced in large numbers. But soon they became a prime target of the insurgents’ roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.
By April 2004 the requirement for factory-built armored Humvees had reached 4,454, and commanders in Iraq subsequently raised it to 6,223 in June, 8,105 in August and then to 8,279 in December.
Those are in addition to thousands of regular Humvees to which makeshift armor and ballistic glass have been added to reinforce their doors and windows against the blast from roadside bombs and land mines. Armor also has been added to supply trucks and older troop carriers.
The new armored Humvee target of 10,079 is not expected to be achieved before July, according to Army projections based on the factory’s recently increased production rate of 550 vehicles per month. It will take a few additional weeks beyond July to ship the extras to Iraq.
Will that delivery be the end of the prolonged controversy? I seriously doubt it. Hell, it probably won’t even be the end of the numbers game.
Army officials acknowledge that putting armor on Humvees is not a perfect solution. For one thing, it has added to the wear-and-tear on the heavier vehicles and increased fuel consumption, thereby requiring even more supply convoys that are a common target of insurgents.
“No amount of effort in armoring will make our soldiers completely invulnerable, but we owe it to them to provide the best possible protection,” Army Secretary Francis Harvey wrote in a letter to the editor of USA Today on Monday.
Wise words, remaining true through every evolution of warfare.
Soldiers Hail New Stryker Troop Transport
For soldiers inside the U.S. Army’s newest troop transport vehicle, the armored combat Stryker rides like a cross-town bus as it sways softly atop its rubber tires, its brakes hissing quietly — before the back shoots open and troops leap onto the streets of one of Iraq’s most dangerous cities.
Some 300 Strykers are patrolling northern Iraq after their September 2003 introduction — vanguard of a multibillion dollar program that commanders say boosts their chances in a largely hit-and-run battle with insurgents.
Rank-and-file soldiers hailed the Stryker during recent patrols in Mosul as faster, quieter and safer than other combat vehicles — despite last week’s internal Army study that found numerous design flaws.
“We’ve been hit with (roadside bombs) and rocket-propelled grenades several times. We have taken direct machine-gun fire,” said Spc. George May of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis, Wash. “The Stryker has saved everyone’s lives at least once. It’s perfect for what we’re doing, which is urban warfare.”
Strykers are designed to carry troops on patrols and into combat — like Bradley fighting vehicles, or the Humvees that have came under criticism for lacking proper armor. But while the boxy Strykers somewhat resemble tanks, they generally lack heavy cannons and are propelled by wheels instead of tracks.
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Soldiers say the Stryker is quieter, allowing them to sneak up on the enemy. And they say its partially jerry-rigged armor guards them better than Humvees.
Unlike the tank-like, tracked personnel carriers that predominate across the rest of Iraq — such as the Bradley — the four wheels on either side of the 19-ton Stryker give it speed, stealth and mobility that allows it to outmaneuver insurgents, officers say.
“For what we’re doing, I think the Stryker is excellent,” said May, a 27-year-old native of Upper Dublin, Pa.
The Strykers themselves have also not beem free of concern.
Still, an Army report from the Center for Army Lessons Learned found the vehicle bogs down in mud and the engine strains under 5,000-pound armor added by the Army.
The metal mesh armor, designed to deflect rocket-propelled grenades and large shrapnel from improvised bombs, has earned it a nickname: “the bird cage.”
The report also said the armor’s extra weight has caused problems with the automatic tire pressure system, requiring crews to check the tires three times a day.
“The Army should not put inadequately tested equipment in the field, as it creates a false impression that the troops are properly equipped to fight in combat,” said Eric Miller, who investigates defense issues for the oversight group.
It is interesting to read of the future force the Army plans to field.
The $7 billion Stryker program is intended as a stepping stone to the ultimate goal: a high-tech family of fighting systems known as the Future Combat System, expected to include unmanned ground and aerial vehicles.