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Marines Demand Probe Into Armor Delay

Posted Feb 26, 08 4:48 AM CST in Technology 

(Newser) – The US Marine Corps has asked the Department of Defense to investigate delays obtaining vehicles with blast-resistant armor for combat units in Iraq. An internal USMC memo claims the money needed for the vehicles, which could have cut deaths from roadside bombings by 50%, was diverted to other projects, reports Stars & Stripes.   

An urgent 2005 request for vehicles with life-saving extra armor, known as MRAPs, fell victim to the "byzantine" procurement system, according to the memo. Decisions were also unduly influenced by retired servicemen who were more concerned with protecting the budget for other programs than with saving marines on the ground, the memo charges.

Source Stars and Stripes

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Marines in Falluja point out blast marks on their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) during a visit by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Camp Falluja in Iraq's Anbar province in 2007. The...   (Associated Press)
A Category I mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle, is driven on a test course at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in this Aug. 24, 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)   (Associated Press)
A mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle, is driven on a test course at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. The Marine Corps has asked for an investigation into delays getting the vehicles to combat...   (Associated Press)
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Iraq  • Pentagon  • Defense Department  • US Marine Corps  • roadside bomb  • budget  • casualties  • vetting  • deaths  • whistleblower


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