Gear Archives
Do We Need a New Weapon
By Townie 76
Interesting piece which I found on the Fox Website. Do we need a new rifle for the Armed Forces? If so what should the specifications be? Do we retain the 5.56mm round, or do we go for a larger round such as the 6.5mm or the 7.62X51mm? If we decide to get a new weapons, who should be in charge of managing the acquisition program; the Army or the USMC? What I found interesting was it was not just the M4 which failed but also the M249 (SAW). The SAW has been troubled weapon since it was introduced back in the 1980's. Your thoughts--please.
MRAP It Up, I'll Take It
By Lt Col P
Took my first ride in an MRAP a few days ago. NICE. PIECE OF. GEAR. Me like. It's got a nice comm package, and with the headphones I could listen to the convoy freq as well as the convoy's freaks. Because Kabul is the famous kite-flying city (if they ever figure out how to rig a bomb on a kite, we're fucked) this particular unit begins each run with some poor SPC getting tapped to belt out a stanza from the let's-go-fly-a-kite song in Mary Poppins. I shit you in the negative, I heard with my own two ears and I laughed my ass off. Good troopers, and dialed in too.
As we were rolling down the roads of greater metropolitan Kabul, it occurred to me that the MRAP would make almost the perfect bug-out vehicle for the well-prepared civilian. Hmmmm... I wonder if MDL would go in with me, 50/50? :-)
Getting Ready
By Lt Col P
Got a mountain of gear the other day, including the new vest. "Stoutly built" is the description that springs to mind. "Heavy" might also work. My hat's off to the men (and 'men) who are wearing these 24/7 with all the ammo and water thereunto pertaining, in hideous heat.
Seriously, we're getting some very good kit these days. I regaled the folks at the CIF with tales of the gear that 1stLt P was issued back in 1990, such as the mythical "shelter half," and received looks of disbelief in return. I'm still messing with this thing.
Thoughts and Musings on 2008
By Townie 76
Barack Obama has selected a number of first-rate minds for his National Security Team; retaining Secretary Robert Gates was a good idea.
Read More »
MRAP Review
By Slab
In January, my team traded out our well-worn M1114 Up-armored HMMWV for a 4X4 JERRV, one of the models of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles purchased by the Marine Corps. We were pretty excited to have the new vehicle, especially after our first look inside. I mean, the thing looks like the Cadillac Escalade of tactical vehicles. The IED threat in our little slice of Al Anbar had long since dropped to non-existent, but it felt good to have something that was specifically engineered to combat the threat, you know? It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off, however, and by the end of the deployment we had taken to operating mainly from a Humvee again. The MRAP is a superb EOD and convoy security vehicle (the acronym JERRV stands for Joint EOD Rapid Response Vehicle), but it is merely a passable utility and/or fighting vehicle. The thing was obviously designed with the EOD mission in mind, and if any operator input was incorporated into the design, it clearly did not come from the infantry community.
On the good side, it is obviously better equipped to resist blast-type mines and IEDs than any other vehicle in the inventory. On top of the increased protection, the MRAP has a fantastic communications system installed, much better than what we had in our Humvee. Most ANGLICO Humvees look like Monster Garage rejects - additional antennas installed in weird places, additional radios installed in all sorts of unauthorized fashion, all trying to maximize the communications capability of our vehicles. Here we had a vehicle that came with brand new multiband radios, all tied in to an intercommunications system. Although many of the comm capabilities are completely unnecessary for most units, it almost seemed like this thing was made for ANGLICO. In addition, the designers were definitely looking to improve crew comfort in these things - the seats are much more comfortable than the ones in a Humvee, the Vehicle Commander's (VC) seat was MUCH roomier than in a Humvee (even my 155 lb ass ends up wedged between the door and the Blue Force Tracker mount in a Humvee), the air conditioning system was top-notch, etc.
For a motorized infantry mission, however, the MRAP's shortcomings are many. It handles atrociously offroad. The suspension is incredibly stiff, with the end result being that you must be tightly strapped in to survive the jostling in the back of the vehicle. Well, my radio operator sits in the back, and those wonderful radios I mentioned before are placed in such a way that the only person who can readily access them is the gunner. Someone that I would prefer keep his attention oriented, you know, outside the vehicle. My radio guy can certainly reach around the gunner's legs and work on the radios, but not if he's tightly strapped in trying to survive the ride.
Because we frequently live and fight from our vehicle, we have to carry an assortment of odds and ends for our radios, weapons, and ourselves. Things like water, MREs, ammunition, spare barrels for the machinegun, and spare items for the radios. The jostling that I just mentioned makes it nearly impossible to store any of these items in the interior of the vehicle without significant modification. We tried removing one of the seats and putting in a wooden box with space for some of these items, but many items were tossed completely out of the box and ended up strewn about the floor of the vehicle. There is a complete lack of weapons stowage for passengers in the rear of the vehicle, and the weapons racks for the driver and VC are designed for M16s, not M4s. One aspect that seems to elude many tactical vehicle designers is that motorized infantry typically store their sustainment load (i.e. rucksacks) externally (see below). This allows the vehicle's internal space to be utilized for items that I mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, which must be readily accessible throughout the day. Sustainment items can typically wait until a long halt of some sort before they are needed. Yet, the MRAP has no provision for strapping a rucksack to the outside of the vehicle.
7-tons and HMMWVs with rucksacks stored externally just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003
The MRAP is a vehicle that is well-suited for a particular niche, but due to pressure from people such as our lawmakers in Congress, it has been pressed into service in roles that it is not suited for. For a unit that never leaves a paved surface, and rarely spends more than 24 hours outside of some sort of operating base at a time, the MRAP's protection and communications capabilities make it a superb asset. For units that must remain expeditionary, be able to operate in a wide variety of terrain and pursue the enemy wherever he is found, the MRAP is ultimately a poor choice, and I in retrospect I am very glad that Gen Conway is reducing the number of these vehicles on order. Personally, if given the choice, I would take an M1114 or M1152 HMMWV over the JERRV 4X4, and would seek other means to reduce the IED threat through such things as tribal leader engagement and refining mounted patrol TTPs.
For more reading on the subject, try Defense Tech. As you can see, Christian has been leveling similar criticism since last year. Christian's article is one of the more down-to-earth articles I've seen on the subject. He and I had a good discussion about personal body armor at the Milbloggies last year, it looks like we are of generally the same opinion on the MRAP issue as well.
Update: I should point out that the Defense Tech article I referenced above is over a year old. DT's Ground Vehicles category has more articles on MRAPs.
Buy This!
By Charlie
I don't usually do product recommendations, but I may have to start after using this: the Perfect Pushup.
I've always been the type that needed to work hard to max pushups on the PT test, and have tried everything in the book from pushup-centric weight training to pyramid sets. I think I may have found the best way to improve my score once and for all with this thing:
The handles rotate as you lower yourself to the "down" position, and it gives you a better workout because it strengthens muscles not used much in a normal pushup. So here's a gift suggestion for the holidays: if you know someone who is in the military, or just someone who wants to get in shape and improve their upper strength, buy them the Perfect Pushup.
John says: Totally agreed. This is the one workout gimmick that I actually recommend. Works your shoulders, chest, back, delts, traps, etc. Nearly a total upper body workout. Great Xmas gift.
