Turns out that it's not 3,900 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles will go to Iraq by year's end, but 1,500, a rather substantial differance. As Defense News reports:
*
Defense officials say fewer than half of the new blast-resistant vehicles being built this year to give troops better protection from roadside bombs will be delivered to Iraq by year’s end.*At least 1,500 will be in Iraq by Dec. 31, according to Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell. But the figure is less than half of the 3,900 an official previously said would be delivered.
The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ top program priority. During a July 18 press conference at the Pentagon, John Young, chairman of DoD’s MRAP Task Force, had said — “ambitiously,” according to Morrell — that 3,500 to 3,900 would be delivered to Iraq in that time.
I guess "oops" is the operative word there.
Previously:
* Bomb-Fighting Vehicles Bite the Dust
* Bomb-Resistant Vehicles' Long Road to Acceptance
* Picture This: MRAP Menagerie
* Armor-Makers "Risked Soldiers' Lives," Says Pentagon I.G.
* Manufacturers Can't Fill Bomb-Proof Vehicle Demand
* Which Ride Takes Bomb-Blasts Best?
* Military Dragged Feet on Bomb-Proof Vehicles
* Bomb-Proof Vehicles: Why the Delay?
* Army Junking Future for New Rides?
