Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Franz Gayl our Marines on patrol in Afghanistan and Iraq are now well protected from IEDs and ambush by a variety of vehicles purpose built for this tough environment.
Let’s take a look at the MRAP family, the successors of the HMMVE and the Stryker our armed forces first took into the deserts of the Mideast … and the political forces that have all but ended the career of the man who has done more to protect our troops than anyone.
The venerable Jeep, which Eisenhower credited as being one of three key pieces of equipment that lead to our victory during World War II, and its offspring were all quite long in the tooth when they were finally replaced with the HMMWV twenty five years ago.
The Army is currently undergoing a doctrinal change as a result of the end of the Cold War. Where we used to organize our heavy armored ground units into divisions of tanks we now have lighter, quieter wheeled armor in the form of the Stryker, and they are organized into Stryker Brigades. The Brigade Combat Team is the smallest unit of our Army that operates independently. Divisions have by definition a minimum of three brigades and our current Army division structure has about double that number.
These vehicles were what we had when we arrived in Afghanistan and Iraq. The HMMWV, even when “up armored” for the dangers of IEDs, is simply too light, too close to the ground, and the wrong shape for dealing with mine type attacks. The Stryker is a big, beefy machine … but heavy, expensive, and too large for urban environments. Something in between was needed, something conceived to face the specific dangers of Afghanistan and Iraq.
There is military experience with this sort of fighting, most notably in Israel and South Africa. Vehicles either from these countries or inspired by their experiences were available. Politics and inertia kept these machines out of the hands of our troops until late 2007, despite Gayl’s relentless advocacy.
Today, three years after the intial deployment, three classes of MRAP vehicles are in use. the MRAP Mine Resistant Utility Vehicle (MRUV) is typically a four wheel drive heavy truck meant for urban operations. The heavier MRAP Joint Engineering Rapid Response Vehicles (JERRV) is a much heavier six wheel drive machine meant for use in the country and for special duties such as armored ambulance. Category three has just one entry, the giant Buffalo Mine Removal Vehicle built by Force Protection.
Class 1 MRAP for urban duty
Force Protection Cougar 4x4
BAE RG31 Nyala
International MaxxPro (original)
International MaxxPro Plus (dual rear wheels, larger engine)
International MaxxPro Dash (larger engine of Plus, single rear wheels)
Class 2 MRAP for rural/heavy duty
Force Protection Cougar 6x6
BAE RG33L - extended six wheel version of Class 1 RG33
Class 3 MRAP for IED removal & other harsh duty
Force Protection Buffalo with 30’ crane for ordinance disposal
So our troops now have over 10,000 of these vehicles in operation. Casualties are down. But Franz Gayl, an eighteen and a half year Marine Corp civilian scientist, has had his security clearance pulled over a trivial security problem that happened two years ago. He could retire in 2012 with a nice pension, but he is being screwed by the political forces swirling around this large acquisition of equipment.
This man went the extra mile to make sure our troops come home safe. I think it’s the least we can do to hunt down the politicians who think cheating him of his pension is a good move and put and end to their careers. Would you like to help?