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-----Original Message-----
From: Robert D. Brooke [mailto:rdb18@csufresno.edu]
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2000 1:53 AM
To: mil-veh@uller.skylee.com
Subject: [MV] Common Sense (Was: Army's Next Truck)
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Trying To Post a Second Time. Please ignore the >'s. This is the first
time you have seen this message. (Assuming it posts this time).
Bob and List,
I suspected that my comments on the need for the HMMWV would generate some
comments. Since both mine and Bobs posts were fairly long, I have deleted
them from this reply. You'll have to check the archives if you want the
exact text of the original messages.
I apologize, Bob, if I gave the impression that I was advocating the issue
of 2 wheel drive vehicles to the military. That was never my intention. I
know that, even though it isn't often used, 4 wheel drive should be standard
on all military vehicles. (excepting tracks, 6x6's and 8x8's of course)
You never mentioned how much direct experience you have with the military
but, judging from your use of terminology and phrasing, I assume that it was
extensive. You mentioned: "Every deployable unit in the Army has a TOE,
which almost always is modified for various reasons...their MTOE." Correct,
but how that MTOE is implemented has a lot to do with the readiness of a
unit.
I'll use my last unit as an example. Like most people who spend several
years in the military, I've had my share of jobs. The last one was as NCOIC
of the Water Treatment Platoon of an Infantry Division (Heavy). The MTOE
said that I was supposed to have 42 troops working for me...I had an average
of 12. We were issued ten complete ROWPU's (Water Treatment systems) and the
5 ton trucks to pull them. In addition, I was authorized 3 Forward Area
Water Supply Systems (with a 2 1/2 ton for each), some extra 125 gpm and 350
gpm water pumps (about 25), a Theater Area Water Supply System (15 conexes),
and a small warehouse full of spare parts and supporting equipment. With the
requirements for non-MOS related training, administrative activities,
weapons qualification, and all of the other activities that have to take
place in order for a Guard unit to function, we were lucky to be able to
spend 4 hours per weekend (on average) working on our equipment. No, this
isn't a sob story or a plea for pity... it's the same reality that I have
seen in virtually every Guard and Reserve unit that I have ever come across.
By the way, I live in Minnesota. Water Treatment Equipment doesn't fare too
well up here, come winter. Put it inside a heated building for the winter,
you say? Sorry, no indoor storage was available. I went all the way to the
Division Commander for help in locating some. We would spend the first three
months of every year (after the Spring thaw) repairing the damage that
freezing weather had caused to our equipment. Maybe $10,000.00 per year.
Our Company also had a POL Section. Last I knew, there were about a dozen
people in that group. I believe that they had something like 10 or 12 "49
Charlie's" (1200 gallon fuel trucks on a 2 1/2 ton chassis), and close to a
dozen 5000 gallon tank trailers and 5 ton tractors. They also had a POL tank
farm, similar to our Theater Area Water Supply System but not quite as
large.
I could go on, but I think that you get the idea. None of this equipment was
well maintained. We got called out for a flood a few years ago. The State
Guard Bureau had to call in every mechanic that they could get their hands
on. They kept the shops going 24 hours a day to get the equipment
operational, and keep it running. Then it took them 6 months afterward to
get it all back into useable condition again.
A friend of mine was the Commander of an Air Defense Artillery Battalion.
New concept...give two guys a HMMWV filled with Stingers and call them an
anti-aircraft unit. His Battalion was authorized a mix of HMMWV's and M113
APC's (or Bradleys). He had a reasonable sized staff and Enlisted complement
at his Headquarters Battery. His line units consisted of a CO, a 1SG, four
Platoon Leaders, and four Platoon Sergeants. No enlisted personnel were
authorized. They would come later, if the unit were deployed. The battalion
was authorized somewhere between 180 and 400 HMMWV's, depending upon the mix
of APC's that were thrown in. Should he have been issued all of this
equipment, just because his MTOE called for it? I would have to say no.
(Although, when you think about it, this would be a great source for very
low mileage used MV's)
You mention how difficult it would be to manufacture and ship equipment on
short notice, should a unit be deployed. We seem to have at least partially
solved that problem with pre-positioning. I understand that there is quite a
pile of stuff in the Middle East, just waiting for the next time that we
need to use it. I would propose that a unit be issued the amount of
equipment, based on it's MTOE, that it would need to train and maintain in a
manner that allows it to achieve a reasonable level of proficiency. The rest
of the equipment would be packed and prepped for shipment. If a unit got
called up, it could respond a whole lot quicker if it didn't have to spend a
lot of time bringing its equipment up to operational standards and then
preparing it for movement.
I've been in units that were supposed to be able to deploy within days, and
I've been in units that were supposed to be able to deploy within a year.
The fast deployment (notice I didn't say "Rapid Deployment") units had
figured out how to accomplish their missions with the least amount of
equipment possible. They had to. They had to be able to move fast.
Whew! This has been a long-winded rant and rave! Bob, I'm not trying to
impugn your integrity or intelligence. I'm simply saying that the theory of
fully equipping a Reserve or Guard unit with everything on its MTOE is just
that...a theory. The times that I have seen it put into practice, it becomes
a nightmare. The system is simply not geared to provide the level of
storage, shelter, support, or logistics that a typically under-staffed
Reserve unit would need to have available in order to maintain all of its
authorized equipment. Remember, when you are looking at an MTOE you're not
just looking at trucks or armored vehicles. There are radios, weapons,
camouflage sets (Usually hundreds), spare parts, Mess equipment, tractors
and trailers, forklifts, computers, generators, and literally hundreds of
other items. I don't think that you can reasonably expect "somebody sitting
behind a desk somewhere" to understand that all you really wanted was for
everyone to have access to a HMMWV when they needed it. Sorry, I couldn't
resist that cheap shot.
I'll see your .04 worth and raise you .04.
John
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