PDA

View Full Version : Troops get new ride



thedrifter
03-11-08, 04:43 AM
Troops get new ride
State Marines praise protection of V-hulled vehicles
By MEG JONES
mjones@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 10, 2008

Habbaniyah, Iraq - Lance Cpl. John Paul Kennedy drives a dump truck at home in Fond du Lac, and while his ride in Iraq casts roughly the same-sized silhouette, it's designed to take punches, not haul stuff.

Kennedy is one of several MRAP armored vehicle drivers for Milwaukee-based Fox Company of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines. Short for mine-resistant, ambush-protected, MRAP (pronounced "M-rap") vehicles feature V-shaped hulls built to deflect roadside bomb blasts and shrapnel - the cause of the majority of American deaths in Iraq.

The dump truck that Kennedy, 20, operates for an excavating company can't do that.

"It's nice, it's safe," Kennedy said Saturday after driving an MRAP on a mission to an Iraqi police station north of Habbaniyah. "It's got a lot of blind spots, though. And it's 40,000 pounds, so you have to be careful going over bumps."

This is Kennedy's first deployment to Iraq. Before he joined the Marine Reserve unit, Fox Company spent seven months in the Sunni Triangle in 2004-'05. Back then, Fox Company drove around in Humvees with canvas doors.

MRAPs have made headlines in recent weeks after an internal military study concluded that hundreds of U.S. Marines were killed or injured by improvised explosive devices because the Corps refused to buy the $1 million vehicles. The study by Franz J. Gayl, which was first reported by the Associated Press last month, reported that bureaucrats ignored a request by Marine commanders in Iraq in 2005 because they feared MRAPs would divert money from pet projects.

The Journal Sentinel obtained a copy of the report. Gayl, who declined to speak to the Journal Sentinel, concluded that mid-level budget and procurement managers for the Marines didn't realize the lethality of improvised explosive devices in late 2004 and early 2005 and figured simply adding more armor to Humvees would be enough.

Gayl also found that the Marines were more intent on developing a lighter vehicle even though it wouldn't be ready for several years and determined the MRAPs would rob money from that program.

Five Fox Company Marines were killed and several were injured during the last deployment. One roadside bomb that struck a convoy in February 2005 killed Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz, 22, of West Bend and injured several Marines.

The news about Gayl's study, which was also reported in Stars and Stripes, the free newspaper widely available to U.S. troops in Iraq, found its way to Fox Company Marines stationed in this community in Anbar province.

"It catches your attention when you're reading about it at the chow hall, but then we go on about our business," said Capt. Jeff Wong, Fox Company's executive officer.

"It made headlines at home, but what I deal with on a day-to-day basis is what I see in front of me. Most Marines feel that way. Bottom line is we have our vehicles," Wong said.

MRAPs began arriving in Iraq after Defense Secretary Robert Gates last May made the blast-resistant vehicles a top priority. Their effectiveness is evident by the number of deaths - one - since they arrived in Iraq. An Army turret gunner died in January when an explosion overturned an MRAP.

None of Fox Company's MRAPs have been hit by roadside bombs during this deployment.

Most of the unit's MRAPs have only a few thousand miles on them; some are brand new and still sport the new MRAP smell.

Several Fox Company Marines, including Kennedy, got their three-day MRAP driving lesson in Iraq because few of the vehicles are at U.S. training facilities.

Lance Cpl. Adam Moranchek, 20, of Delafield used to work for a limousine company driving Lincoln Town Cars and Mercedes. Now he sits high above the pavement and desert sand in the MRAP traveling an average speed of 15 to 20 mph.

"Look at the design. You can tell with the V shape it's a lot safer," said Moranchek, who also drives the much smaller Humvees.

The difference in driving MRAPs and Humvees "is like driving a huge SUV compared to a Corolla," Moranchek said.

Turning is more delicate in the top-heavy MRAP than in other military vehicles, said Cpl. Matthew Johnson, 22, of Brookfield.

Other negatives - the blind spots, suspensions that must be tightened each week - mean MRAPs can't travel everywhere the Marines go. Sitting in the back - Fox Company has both the three-passenger and six-passenger versions - can be a rough ride.

"If you're driving on a level road it's OK, but people can get thrown out of their seats when it's bumpy," said Lance Cpl. Tommy Harry, 29, of Milwaukee, who drives a 1999 Cougar back home.

"Still, I would rather drive the MRAP than the Humvee," Harry said. "It's pretty much a robust vehicle, and I feel much safer driving that than a Humvee."

Ellie