New vehicles replacing worn-out ones in Iraq

39th unit trading up, breathing in new-car smell of heavier-armored MRAPs

By Amy Schlesing (Contact)

CAMP ADDER, Iraq - Scott Turner cracked open the door of the newest vehicle in his motor pool and the sharp, warm smell of a new car flooded the night air.

“We just took the plastic off the seats,” said the chief warrant officer 3 from Bryant.

The sand-colored vehicle is the latest in the Army’s growing fleet of Mine Resistant Armor Protected class of vehicles (MRAP) and is a saving grace in more than one way for 1st Squadron, 151st Cavalry Regiment of Arkansas’ 39th Infantry Brigade.

When it arrived in Iraq with the rest of the brigade two months ago, Arkansas’ only cavalry unit found its mission dependent on a worn-out fleet of chronically broken humvees and light-armored vehicles called ASVs. The group of more than 800 soldiers is traveling Iraq’s roads in those worn-out, inherited trucks, pushing supply convoys from southern Iraq to Army camps as far north as Balad.

Last week the squadron ran 30 missions, and its troops collectively drove more than 87,600 miles on Iraqi roads, according to operations Sgt. Maj. Doug Pettit of Fordyce.

“Lots of driving,” he said. “That’s what we do.”

Amy is blogging as she travels with the 39th.
Check out her observations and send notes

Out of more than 150 attacks, seven troops have died while using the new class of vehicles called MRAPs by the military.

The soldiers’ biggest threat is from roadside bombs, and the heavily armored MRAP - pronounced “m-rap” - is the best protection available.

In a briefing last week, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell called the MRAP class of vehicles “the most survivable vehicle we have in our arsenal by a multitude.” There are five versions of MRAP vehicles used in Iraq today.

“Thus far, the casualty rate for MRAPs is 6 percent. [Factoring in the number of attacks, the crew size, and those who suffer injuries or deaths in such attacks.] Compare that to an Abrams tank, for example, which has a casualty rate of 15 percent, or an up-armored humvee, which has a casualty rate of 22 percent,” Morrell said.

There are more than 3,000 MRAPs in Iraq.

Even the MRAP, however, provides little protection against the newest generation of roadside bombs - explosively formed projectiles [know as EFPs] which have armor-piercing abilities.

So far, the 39th has not had any extraordinary encounters with roadside bombs. The armored humvees and other lightarmored vehicles have provided ample protection. Right now, maintenance issues are the biggest enemy.

In the next few weeks, many of the old humvees will be swapped for dozens of brand-new MRAPs.

“It’s not so much the protection that’s so nice, but the fact that it has an odometer of all zeros,” said Maj. Chad Higginbotham of Hamburg, the squadron’s executive officer. “That is the biggest reprieve.”

While many humvees are being traded for new MRAPs, the fleet of vehicles is not growing.About half of the squadron’s humvees will be traded in for MRAPs. The humvees turned in are being stripped and shipped north to Taji, where they will be fixed and distributed to the Iraqi army.

With a one-for-one swap of old humvees for MRAPs, the squadron will continue to lack the luxury of spare vehicles.

It has just enough people and trucks to keep up with demand - with no wiggle room.

“We’re busy. And we like it that way,” said Capt. Lynn Martin of Dierks, squadron operations officer.

On Tuesday, squadron commander Lt. Col. Darrell Daniels requested an additional company of troops to help with the mission.

Right now, he said, the squadron is so busy with missions that its soldiers have little time to rest or train. About 90 percent of the squadron is on an operation at any given time. Another unit under a different command with the same mission operates at about 50 percent. Daniels would like to balance out the workload.

Shifting one company from the slower unit to the cavalry will balance out the workload and give the squadron’s soldiers a little more time for training and rest.

“We have just enough people to do the mission right now,” Daniels said. “If we stay at 100 percent [staffed], we can just barely make it with everyone taking leave. I wish I could get another [company] so I wouldn’t be pushing them so hard and give them more prep time.”

Next week - about the same time the squadron begins its swap of humvees for MRAPs - he expects to know whether he will gain a company or be able to shift some convoy missions to another unit.

The squadron’s vehicles aren’t likely to get a reprieve, however.

“These trucks had been used severely when we got here,” Higginbotham said. “Some had been used so much they had chronic problems.”

The unit that the squadron replaced quit using those troubled humvees and light-armored vehicles, but the squadron has no choice. It’s bigger than the unit it replaced, as is the mission demand. Every vehicle in the fleet is needed to meet the demand. The former unit didn’t have MRAPs.

It has taken constant maintenance to get those older trucks into reliable shape. Breakdowns on missions stall the flow of supplies. The convoy has to stop at the nearest Army post and wait while the vehicle is fixed.

“They just weren’t in great shape when we got them,” Daniels said.

In the motor pool, mechanics work day and night to keep the aging humvees running. Most of the work involves some form of major maintenance.

One night a week ago, two mechanics replaced an engine while another set across the shop pounded at a truck suspension as they changed out ball joints and tie rods. Brakes are a major andconstant issue, as are suspensions, transmissions and radiators.

The worn-out parts are the result of overworked humvees that have been driven hundreds of thousands of miles in war.

While the brand-new trucks are expected to have considerably fewer maintenance issues, they are not without issues.

“It’s not a cure-all,” Martin said of the MRAP. “It is top-heavy and has a tendency to roll.”

The MRAP version that is joining the squadron fleet is a modified 5-ton truck. The FMTV - the newest generation of 5-ton cargo trucks - has been retrofitted with an armored capsule that runs the length of the chassis. All of the engine, suspension and chassis parts used for the cargo version are also used in the MRAP.

“The availability of parts is much better,” said Turner, the squadron’s motor pool chief.

But even brand-new trucks break sometimes, as did one of the MRAPs on its first mission. And when that happens, it’s more difficult to handle. The MRAP is too heavy for standard towing practices.

Typically if a truck breaks down, it is lashed onto another vehicle in a matter of minutes and towed as the mission continues.

When an MRAP breaks, the convoy has to wait on the side of the road for a massive wrecker to arrive from the nearest military post. It can take hours.

And hours spent sitting on the side of the road in Iraq with a handful of gun-trucks guarding a 3-mile-long convoy of tankers filled with JP-8 jet fuel is a dangerous place to be.

“It’s a trade-off,” Daniels said. “It’s more protection, but it leaves you on the side of the road waiting if it breaks.”

He added that he’d send more gun trucks to convoys if he had them. But it’s not an option and isn’t likely to be one anytime soon.

“None of these vehicles is an ideal vehicle,” Daniels said. “Each one has a unique capability that it can provide. And nothing out there can 100 percent protect against a [projectile roadside bomb.

]”

Front Section, Pages 1, 8 on 05/29/2008