WASHINGTON — In February 2005, Marine units in Iraq asked for vehicles capable of withstanding the most severe roadside blasts. The request went unmet, military officials said Wednesday, because no company could quickly supply such a heavily armored fleet.
A "Priority 1 Urgent" request called for nearly 1,200 mine resistant ambush protected vehicles. In response, the Marine Corps bought more than 2,900 Humvees fortified with extra protective plating to blunt improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades.
That decision proved to be a short-term solution, however, as insurgent forces in Iraq began using more powerful weapons the Humvees could not deflect.
"The (upgraded Humvee), at the time, met the needs for the war fighter in theater," said Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Dennis Hejlik, who approved the urgent request. "The insurgent adapted to the way that we armored our vehicles."
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Over the past two years, the industrial capacity necessary to build the mine-resistant carriers has evolved and the Marine Corps plans to buy as many as 3,700 of the vehicles, which feature a V-shaped hull that pushes the blast outward.
"There's a lot more out there in the marketplace," said Tom Miller, a civilian acquisition official with the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.
But Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said Wednesday the delay has led to unnecessary deaths and injuries in Iraq. Roadside bombs account for 70 percent of the casualties in Iraq, and the new vehicles are expected to sharply reduce that number, he said.
"There are troops that have been and will be killed or become serious casualties until all the troops are riding around in these vehicles," said Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a 2008 presidential candidate.
