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It's nice to see that someone in the Army is finally showing some common
sense. While I understand the need for a "weapons platform" such as the
HMMWV, I have never understood their role as an "everyday" vehicle. With
three years Active Duty and 22 + years in the Guard/Reserve, I have seen the
evolution from the Jeep to the Dodge (M880), to the Chevy (CUCV), to the
HMMWV, and now, it seems, to the Ford (COMBATT).
Over the years, the Active component has been shrinking, while the
Guard/Reserve has been growing. Last I knew, the Guard/Reserve component was
actually larger than the Active component. Most Reserve units meet once per
month, and rarely put very many miles on their vehicles. The miles that they
do put on them are most often accumulated in trips from one building or area
to another building or area, mostly on paved roads. I think that any
reasonable person would realize that you don't need an 8 foot wide, high
ground clearance, go-anywhere vehicle to accomplish this task. In fact, I
doubt that there are many field situations where a HMMWV is an absolute
necessity. In 25 years in the Army, I doubt that I needed 4 wheel drive more
than a dozen times. That includes desert, mountain, swamp, and winter
operations. Yes, I did go "4-wheeling" with military equipment on several
occasions, usually without a need to engage 4 wheel drive. It's just that
there aren't that many places that actually require the use of 4 wheel
drive, unless you actually go looking for them.
I think that each unit ought to have a HMMWV, or two, if their actual
mission would require that they would use them in a "real world" situation.
The troops do need to be trained how to operate them and maintain them. I've
been in units that had the HMMWV assigned and I know that they can be a
high-maintenance item, especially if they are allowed to sit for six months
between uses. I don't know if this would be the case with an "off-the-shelf"
military version of the Ford, but I would hope not. Certainly, repair parts
for a Ford ought to be cheaper and more easily obtainable, for both the
military and a collector, than are parts for a HMMWV. That is the case with
the CUCV right now.
I applaud the Army for looking at the idea of substituting a militarized
version of an off-the-shelf vehicle for the HMMWV in everyday use. It just
makes good sense to buy less expensive vehicles to meet the everyday needs
of the military. I have long held this opinion and I just felt that this
would be a good time to express it. No offence intended to the HMMWV owners
on the list. You bought a vehicle for your own enjoyment. I'm making a
comment about what I see as a practical solution to an everyday
transportation need. Now to sit back and see if this generates any comments.
John
John Hutterer
Sen. Eng. Lab. Tech.
SIMS Deltec
651-628-7107
john.hutterer@deltec.com
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Apr 04 2000 - 21:57:15 PDT