Cedric
Professional
Apparently, the HUMVEE's days are numbered.
Even though this is in the multi-colored fishwrap, I'll accept it at face value for discussion.
I have mixed feelings on replacing the Hummer. On the one hand the author reminds us of the IED threat, the development of the MRAP, etc. Now speed and agility is required so we adopt an 80% commercial vehicle which has seats for nine, and can go really fast, but it can mount a cal .50. Some thoughts.
- Seating nine doesn't mean it's going to actually carry nine fully equipped infantrymen. For example, in the 80s the Army put out a PR effort on dune buggies which carried 2-4. I worked with an SF officer who was in charge of getting Green Berets mobile. Dune buggies were not used in the Gulf War SCUD hunts. They couldn't carry enough people or provisions for the mission. Austrian Pinzgauers were used instead. Transporting nine in the ISV is way optimistic. BTW, in OIF modified cargo Hummers were able to transport 4-5 in the back with outward facing seats to function as a light infantry transport.
- A modified commercial vehicle could work, but my only experience is with the Dodge M880 CUCV in the late 80s (yes we still had them). Designed for rear area work I nevertheless ended up going forward in training situations and in even semi-rough terrain it sucked. It was one the most despised trucks in my career. Eventually they were all replaced by Hummers in our unit anyway. Commonality with commercial vehicles is touted as an advantage, but wait until the local GM dealer has a parking lot full of ISVs waiting for repair - maybe. This happened with CUCVs.
- We want to buy American, I get it. But from the beginning of OIF we failed to quickly take advantage of foreign internal security vehicles which had better protection than the Hummer. Britain, France, etc. all had well developed types of these vehicles. Our soldiers were making their own modifications using American ingenuity. The hierarchy should have swallowed their pride and evaluated and bought the foreign jobs.
A replacement for the Hummer will have to be forthcoming, but I'm not sure this ISV is it. Relying on a focus on one particular type of warfighting environment to develop a new vehicle to fit that one environment will always come back I bite us in the rear.
No more GI Joe trucks: Army swaps iconic Humvee for a faster, cheaper vehicle
The Infantry Squad Vehicle is basically a stretched-out, stripped-down all-terrain vehicle with and seating for up to nine soldiers.
www.usatoday.com
Even though this is in the multi-colored fishwrap, I'll accept it at face value for discussion.
I have mixed feelings on replacing the Hummer. On the one hand the author reminds us of the IED threat, the development of the MRAP, etc. Now speed and agility is required so we adopt an 80% commercial vehicle which has seats for nine, and can go really fast, but it can mount a cal .50. Some thoughts.
- Seating nine doesn't mean it's going to actually carry nine fully equipped infantrymen. For example, in the 80s the Army put out a PR effort on dune buggies which carried 2-4. I worked with an SF officer who was in charge of getting Green Berets mobile. Dune buggies were not used in the Gulf War SCUD hunts. They couldn't carry enough people or provisions for the mission. Austrian Pinzgauers were used instead. Transporting nine in the ISV is way optimistic. BTW, in OIF modified cargo Hummers were able to transport 4-5 in the back with outward facing seats to function as a light infantry transport.
- A modified commercial vehicle could work, but my only experience is with the Dodge M880 CUCV in the late 80s (yes we still had them). Designed for rear area work I nevertheless ended up going forward in training situations and in even semi-rough terrain it sucked. It was one the most despised trucks in my career. Eventually they were all replaced by Hummers in our unit anyway. Commonality with commercial vehicles is touted as an advantage, but wait until the local GM dealer has a parking lot full of ISVs waiting for repair - maybe. This happened with CUCVs.
- We want to buy American, I get it. But from the beginning of OIF we failed to quickly take advantage of foreign internal security vehicles which had better protection than the Hummer. Britain, France, etc. all had well developed types of these vehicles. Our soldiers were making their own modifications using American ingenuity. The hierarchy should have swallowed their pride and evaluated and bought the foreign jobs.
A replacement for the Hummer will have to be forthcoming, but I'm not sure this ISV is it. Relying on a focus on one particular type of warfighting environment to develop a new vehicle to fit that one environment will always come back I bite us in the rear.
