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01-20-09, 06:35 AM
Last modified Monday, January 19, 2009 6:59 PM PST
MILITARY: Report says Marine Corps jumped the gun on Osprey rocket system

By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer

Poor contracting practices, but no violations of law, led to cost overruns and production delays for a mobile rocket system that was supposed to be ready to support ground troops when the Marine Corps' Osprey helicopter went into combat service last year, according to a Defense Department inspector general's report.

The service allowed production of the "expeditionary fire support system" to begin before it had proven itself in tests, leading to a nearly two-year delay and cost increases, the report, issued this month, concludes.

The report was ordered last year after U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, raised questions in response to complaints of bidding irregularities from a firm in his home state. That firm, Rae-Beck Automotive, was an unsuccessful bidder to build the vehicle.

Levin's office and the Marine Corps Systems Command headquarters were closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and could not be reached for comment.

Marine Corps Systems Command did not "ensure best value" or pass "tests of fairness, impartiality and equitable treatment" of competing contractors, the inspector general said.

Marine Corps Systems Command issued a letter saying it disagreed with the findings.

"It is evident to us that the audit team did not consider all the facts," Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan wrote.

The general also wrote that focusing on the vehicle aspect of the system and not all of its other hardware ignored other issues associated with the program.

"In that context, the final procurement decision is reasonable and defensible," Brogan wrote in a November letter.

The system was launched in 1999 when the Marine Corps said it needed a weapons platform that could be carried inside the Osprey to support ground assault operations.

In the months since the controversies arose, the Marine Corps has been able to correct most of the technical problems.

As of July 2008, the service had a $108 million contract in place with General Dynamics to produce 66 of the rocket systems and 650 of the vehicles.

The Osprey's first combat deployment came early last year following years of cost overruns and accidents during its development. A unit from North Carolina sent to Iraq experienced few maintenance issues and no major mishaps, according to the Marine Corps.

That was welcome news after operating problems that led to a series of crashes that took the lives of 23 Marines, including 15 from local bases, delayed the Osprey by several years.

The Marine Corps also has faced problems in development of the expeditionary fighting vehicle, a tanklike behemoth that can speed over water at up to 25 knots and overland at up to 45 mph. The General Dynamics-built rig is designed to carry a 17-man rifle squad while providing more protection and extending the sea range of an older-generation vehicle now in service.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

Ellie