The internal military study had given the conclusion that at least hundreds of United States Marines were either killed or injured by roadside bombs in Iraq due to “gross mismanagement” on the part of the bureaucracy within the United States Marine Corps. This study was conducted by a civilian official in the USMC. The study was then obtained by The Associated Press.
The request for the mine-resistant and ambush protected trucks (MRAPs) was denied by high ranking officials within the USMC. Battlefield commanders had said that the request for those vehicles was at an urgent and dire need. These vehicles are resistant to blasts from mines and roadside bombs. Roadside bombs were responsible for the deaths of many US servicemen in Iraq.
The cost could be between $450,000 to $1 million for one MRAP a piece. As a result, that was the main factor to why the request was denied. Officials back in the states deemed them financial danger to programs to make lighter vehicles that would not be tested for years.
As a result, the current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had deemed getting those vehicles to the Marines in Iraq a top priority in 2007. Because of that, large numbers of those vehicles were sent over to Iraq.
These trucks are very heavy as they weight at least 40 tons. Each truck could well weight at least 80,000 pounds. They have been very reliable in protecting US troops from explosive devices which was the main weapon used by insurgents and Al-Qaeda.
Franz J. Gayl, the civilian who authored the study explains that decisions were flawed and many mistakes were made. He added this happened long before Donald Rumsfeld resigned from his post before it was taken by Robert Gates in December of 2006.
The study had found many things such as those managing the budget not being able to see the damage done by IEDs. They got the idea that they could add extra armor to the Humvees. But that did not prove to be the case as armored Humvees were ineffective of blunting those explosions from the roadside bombs and other IEDs.
There was inaccurate information given to top leaders from acquisition staff. MRAPs were deemed as only an expensive vehicle by the Combat Development Command.
The USMC did not comment.
“If the mass procurement and fielding of MRAPs had begun in 2005 in response to the known and acknowledged threats at that time, as the (Marine Corps) is doing today, hundreds of deaths and injuries could have been prevented,” Gayl wrote.
In the last year, Gayl filed for whistle-blower protection when he clashed with superiors in the previous year.