lovely.
Turns out those extra uparmored Humvees aren’t really extra uparmored Humvees.
The Pentagon is sticking with their original order, which is now going to be produced faster. They’re going to rely on the less-safe armor upgrade kits for existing Humvees rather than ordering news ones which would cost more money.
The Army’s plan is to complete 8,105 “up-armored'’ Humvees by March 2005, unchanged from before the Dec. 10 order, Army spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Pamela Hart said in an e-mailed response to questions from Bloomberg News. Jacksonville, Florida- based Armor Holdings said Dec. 10 the Army had asked it to raise monthly output to 550 vehicles by March, from 450 now.
“We’re increasing the rate of production, not the total number of vehicles,'’ Hart said. She declined to provide additional information.
More than half of the more than 1,200 U.S. troops killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Iraq have come from insurgent attacks on the vehicles with homemade bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. Some Humvees to which the Army has added armor are vulnerable to bombs planted on roads because the underside is unarmored.
…Members of both houses of Congress have said protecting soldiers should be the military’s highest priority.
“I think there was the ability to increase production significantly if they wanted to,'’ said Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Dec. 10. The Pentagon was “saying, `Don’t put the money in the budget, because we can’t spend it, we can’t produce them.’ It turns out, they can produce a lot more.'’
South Bend, Indiana-based AM General LLC builds the vehicles and Armor Holdings adds about 2,000 pounds of steel plate and bulletproof glass instead of the standard zip-up windows. The work is done in Fairfield, Ohio.
The “up-armored'’ vehicles can stop armor-piercing 7.62- millimeter rounds, provide protection from the blast of a 155- millimeter shell exploding overhead and could withstand a 12- pound mine detonation under the front axle.
The Army says 5,910 of the 8,105 newly manufactured, or “up- armored'’ Humvees have been delivered to Iraq and Kuwait.
The Army says it wants 12,372 add-on armor kits for existing Humvees in Iraq and Kuwait of which 9,135 have been delivered to the region.
Armor Holdings has made 7,500 of the kits so far, Mecredy said last week. The armor kits provide less protection from bullets and blasts than the “up-armored'’ version direct from the factory, he said. He said he couldn’t give details on the different level of protection offered by each.
“The clear message from our committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee is to do whatever you need for our troops,'’ Representative Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said on Dec. 10. “The uniformed military has always done a better job in estimating the threat than Rumsfeld. I think they’ve been intimidated into not asking for more troops and not demanding more equipment.'’
Armor Holdings’ Dec. 10 statement had only indicated monthly production would increase, without reference to the total number of vehicles on order.
We do have enough money for Social Security “reform” - well, no, we don’t, but dammit, we’ll borrow it if we have to.
from Bloomberg. Lousy mayor, suprisingly enterprising news service.
December 13th, 2004 at 5:03 pm
A dear friend, Rob Urban, is the editor at Bloomberg who is working on the Pentagon beat. You may wish to contact them. Contact info at bottom…
He shared a recent offering here:
Armor Holdings Could Boost Humvee Armor Output 22% (Update7)
2004-12-09 18:06 (New York)
Armor Holdings Could Boost Humvee Armor Output 22% (Update7)
(Adds production in eighth paragraph, Congressman in ninth.)
By Edmond Lococo
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Armor Holdings Inc., the sole supplier
of heavily armored Humvee military vehicles used in Iraq, said it
can increase output by as much as 22 percent per month and is
waiting for an order from the U.S. Army.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday the Army was
working as fast as it can and supply is dictated by “a matter of
physics, not a matter of money.'’
Jacksonville, Florida-based Armor Holdings last month told the
Army it could add armor to as many as 550 of the trucks a month, up
from 450 vehicles now, Robert Mecredy, president of the company’s
aerospace and defense group, said in an interview today.
“We’re prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles more per month,'’
Mecredy said in the telephone interview. “I’ve told the customer
that and I stand ready to do that.'’
Insurgent attacks on the vehicles with homemade bombs and
rocket-propelled grenades account for about half of the 1,278
Americans who have died and 9,765 who have been wounded in Iraq,
fueling criticism by members of Congress such as Representative
Ellen Tauscher, a California Democrat on the House Armed Services
Committee, that the Pentagon didn’t adequately equip U.S. troops.
`Steady Progress’
At the rate of more than 400 a month, the Army is making
“steady progress,'’ in improving production of the vehicles,
Lieutenant General Steven Whitcomb, 3rd Army Command, said in a
Pentagon video conference from Kuwait.
“I’ve got enough metal, I’ve got enough folks and I’ve got
enough time to meet our schedule and ensure no wheeled vehicle goes
into Iraq now that’s not an armored vehicle,'’ said Whitcomb, who
is in charge of adding armor to vehicles destined for Iraq. “Could
I use more? You send it and I’ll figure out how to use it.'’
The Army says it requires 8,105 newly manufactured, or “up-
armored'’ Humvees, of which 5,910 have been delivered to Iraq and
Kuwait. The Army says it wants 12,372 add-on armor kits for
existing Humvees in Iraq and Kuwait of which 9,135 have been
delivered to the region.
The fastest way to protect soldiers in Iraq is to deliver the
armor kits, rather than producing more new vehicles, said
Representative Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican and vice
chair of the House Armed Services Committee.
`Extremely Unhappy’
“We’ve been very unhappy with the Army’s leadership,
extremely unhappy, and that continues,'’ Weldon said. “The Army
has got to operate this as if their lives depended on it.'’
Armor Holdings’ Mecredy said the company has made 7,500 of the
kits so far. The armor kits have less protection from bullets and
blasts than the “up-armored'’ version direct from the factory, he
said. He said he couldn’t give details on the different level of
protection offered by each.
President George W. Bush said concerns raised by soldiers in
questions to Rumsfeld yesterday in Kuwait are being addressed.
“We expect our troops to have the best possible equipment,'’
Bush said in a response to a reporter’s question today. “If I were
a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country I’d want to ask the
Secretary of Defense the same question, and that is are we getting
the best'’ equipment, he said.
Trent Duffy, a spokesman for the White House, referred
questions on Armor Holdings to the Pentagon.
“Hillbilly Armor'’
U.S. troops preparing for deployment to Iraq told Rumsfeld
yesterday in Kuwait that they are salvaging metal and armored glass
from landfills to install “hillbilly armor'’ on their Humvees.
Rumsfeld replied that “you have to go to war with the Army you
have.'’
Senator Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, called Rumsfeld’s
remarks “unacceptable'’ in a letter sent to the secretary.
“Our troops go to war with the Army that our nation’s leaders
provide,'’ Dodd wrote. “Our military should spare no expense to
ensure the safety of our troops, particularly as they confront a
hostile insurgency and roadside bombs throughout Iraq.'’
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat,
also called for Rumsfeld to be replaced.
“The war in Iraq “began 21 months ago, and Secretary
Rumsfeld has still not done what is necessary, which is his highest
duty, to protect our troops to the greatest degree possible,'’
Pelosi said. No chief executive officer “in America would retain a
manager with so clear a record of failure and neither should
President Bush.'’
Rumsfeld `Not Surprised’
Rumsfeld, who is in India, told reporters today he was “not
surprised'’ at the soldiers’ comments in Kuwait. “It is good for
people to raise questions that they are interested in,'’ Rumsfeld
said, according to a Pentagon transcript. “It gives the senior
military leadership that has the responsibilities for these matters
the chance to hear them and to listen to the concerns and talk to
the people.'’
Armor Holdings already has increased output from 60 vehicles
per month a year ago, said Mecredy, 58. As a result of the
increased output, Armor Holdings has cut the price for the armor
its supplies for the trucks to $58,000 per vehicle, from $72,000
per vehicle a year ago, Mecredy said.
Shares of Armor Holdings rose $2.11, or 5.2 percent, to $42.88
in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
Rumsfeld, 72 said yesterday he wasn’t sure of the exact
current production. “It’s something like 400 a month are being
done,'’ he said. “It’s a matter of production and capability of
doing it.'’
Making the armor has to be coordinated with output of the
actual trucks by AM General LLC of South Bend, Indiana, Mecredy
said. AM General spokesman Lee Woodward said that truck output
could also be increased.
`Not Close to Capacity’
“If they ordered more trucks, we’d build more trucks,'’
Woodward said. “We’re not close to capacity. It might take some
time to ramp up but we can do it.'’
Woodward declined to provide exact details on production
capacity.
There isn’t enough armor because the military underestimated
its needs, said Meghan Keck, spokeswoman for Senator Evan Bayh, an
Indiana Democrat. Bayh wrote a letter to Rumsfeld in October
calling for a more accurate estimate of Humvee needs.
“If the Army would be upfront about the number of Humvees
needed, the companies would be able to set their production
accordingly to meet the need,'’ Keck said in a phone interview.
At Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, Capt. George Petropoulos came up
with a design for armor cut from steel plates bought locally or
imported and welded on to Humvees.
“If an improvised explosive device hits the armored Humvee,
it “would destroy the vehicle but save a life,'’ said Petropoulos,
a 32-year-old reservist from Milwaukee, who commands the 172
Transportation Co., in an interview at a staging area for convoys
to Iraq.
–With reporting by Jon Steinman, Kristen Jensen, Laura Litvan and
Jay Newton-Small in Washington, Tony Capaccio in Kuwait, and
Subrata Chakravarty in New York. Editor: Urban
Story illustration: For more stories about the Iraqi conflict,}. For a series of functions related to CNP 07809920101 }. Press the space bar to to continue or skip ahead.
see {CNP 14626400202
Armor Holdings’ stock performance and earnings, see
{AH US
pause,
To contact the reporter on this story:
Edmond Lococo in Boston at (1) (617) 338-5808 or
elococo@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Rob Urban at (1) (212) 893-5192 or robprag@bloomberg.net.
December 14th, 2004 at 12:15 am
“It is good for people to raise questions that they are interested in,’’ Rumsfeld said, according to a Pentagon transcript. “It gives the senior military leadership that has the responsibilities for these matters the chance to hear them and to listen to the concerns and talk to the people.’’
Patronizing to the point of triggering fragging fantasies, is this not? Notice that Rumsfeld doesn’t even imply, let alone actually say, that anything will be done. Just that it’s good people get to discuss their concerns. My feeling is that Rumsfeld has crunched the numbers and the spreadsheet shows that X number of lives and Y number of limbs is cheaper than Z number of uparmored vehicles. These are acceptable known knowns, apparently.