New MRAPs Being Received and Implemented in Iraq

US Marine Corps, AL TAQADDUM, Iraq: The new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles are being received here for implementation by Marines on the roads of Iraq. Taqaddum is one of the final destinations of the MRAPs from the assembly line to forward deployed service members. 
 
The arrival of the vehicles is part of a push by Defense Secretary Robert Gates to have them delivered to service members as quickly as possible because of the superior amount of protection provided by its V-shaped hull and integrated armor. 
 
The vehicle is an especially valuable asset to engineers and explosive ordnance disposal technicians assigned to units such as 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) whose job puts them in direct contact with improvised explosive devices, as well as troops on the ground performing day-to-day combat operations. 
 
“The Cougar, by any name, has proven itself a worthy vehicle too many times to even begin to cite,” according to Master Gunnery Sgt. Jack D. Johnson, the explosive ordnance disposal chief for 2nd MLG (Fwd). “Let us just say there are many EOD technicians and corpsman, which make up an EOD team, who have sustained multiple blasts and survived virtually unscathed over the course of the last two years.” 
 
The vehicles come in three categories. Category I vehicles are built for urban combat and are capable of carrying six troops and their combat load. 
 
Category II vehicles are designed for convoy security, troop transport, ambulance missions and EOD operations and can carry 10 fully loaded combat troops. 
 
Category III vehicles are built for IED and mine clearance and can transport five fully equipped technicians or engineers and is designed with special mine clearance equipment. 
 
According to Johnson, the original requirement was levied by EOD in 2004 for a blast and fragmentation resistant vehicle to counter the IED threat. 
 
The initial vehicle, the Cougar, was in-theater by 2005 and was based on a South African design for negotiating minefields, Johnson continued. 
 
The Cougar, also known as the Hardened Explosive Ordnance Disposal Vehicle migrated into the Joint Explosive Ordnance Disposal Rapid Response Vehicle, otherwise know as the JERRV, as the program matured and the requirements solidified. 
 
The JERRV is now being formally adopted as the Level II MRAP vehicle, which will also encompass utility models to protect ground troops and specialized models for EOD, ambulance crews and others. 
 
The Marines who use it enjoy the additional amount of room inside and the increased fuel capacity, keeping it on the road for longer before needing to refuel, explained Gunnery Sgt. Edward G. Bowie, the security platoon commander for Engineer Support Company, 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd MLG (Fwd). 
 
According to Cynthia Bauer, a public affairs officer with United States Transportation Command, it usually takes two days to airlift the vehicles into theater. 
 
The vehicles begin their journey at Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina where they are loaded onto aircraft and flown overseas. Some are transported by sea, which takes between 22 to 30 days. 
 
Many service members in all branches of service are responsible for ensuring the MRAPs arrive in country as expediently as possible. 
 
Air Force Master Sgt. Jared Breyer, with the 437th Airlift Wing, the unit responsible for airlifting MRAPs into theater, recently told ABC News, “It’s absolutely critical. It saves lives and it’s important they have them.” 
 
Once they arrive on either C-17 or civilian aircraft they are downloaded here and prepped to be given to units in need, explained Senior Airman John Cushman, the night shift supervisor for the team who takes them off the aircraft at Al Taqaddum’s Joint Air Cargo Operations Terminal. 
 
“They are downloaded and they are sent to a detachment specifically designed to prepare the MRAPs for use,” explained Cushman. “The Marines then process them and we perform a joint inspection.” 
 
The Defense Department has requested $750 million from Congress for the delivery of MRAPs to Iraq. Although Congress recently approved a defense budget, they did not include money for war spending, prompting Pentagon officials to request additional funds in order to expedite the delivery of the vehicles. 
 
More MRAPs arrive at Taqaddum each week and Johnson explained the sooner they get here, the better. 
 
“Since the concept has a proven defense against underbelly and side IED attacks, it is only logical to afford this level of protection for a wider range of personnel and situations,” Johnson explained. “The sooner these vehicles are manufactured and sent over, the more lives they will save.”