Defense Department Designs 'Baby MRAP' for War in Afghanistan

Ask any soldier who's been to both countries: Afghanistan is not Iraq. It's a different war against a different enemy in a different country with an entirely different terrain and altitude. One thing is the same, though. The Improvised Explosive Device-the deadly "IED" roadside bombs that blew up Humvees and the soldiers inside them along the dusty roads of Iraq-is an equally effective weapon in the rocky steeps of Afghanistan.When the Humvee proved unable to withstand IED attacks in Iraq, the U.S. military built a new vehicle-the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)-to replace it. And like a neglected sibling, the troops in Afghanistan automatically acquired the MRAP as a hand-me-down. It's the wrong vehicle for the new war.“Best vehicle in Afghanistan? Two legs. And maybe a mule to pack the .50 caliber machine gun,” Arizona National Guardsman Anthony McGee said, only half-jokingly."Breakdowns were an almost everyday occurrence."So it's back to the drawing board. Soon there'll be a new king of the road: the MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV), nicknamed the "Baby MRAP," which is being "designed for mobility and survivability," says Cheryl Irwin, spokeswoman for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.As a nation at war for nearly 40 years, the Afghan landscape is peppered with an astounding variety of things that blow up. Along the bare, parched mountains near the border with Pakistan, explosives are more abundant than flowers or trees.Weight, height, size-all the advantages the MRAP afforded troops in Iraq's urban environments-are all liabilities in a country that barely possesses paved pathways.Last year, three Green Berets drowned when their MRAP, which is prone to tilting over on uneven terrain, rolled into a canal in southern Afghanistan. The problem was obvious, and the solution is clear: Afghanistan needs a special vehicle for its unique demands.
Click here to see video of a an MRAP rolling over in Iraq.
PICTURE:The MRAP All Terrain Vehicle is designed to handle Afghanistan's rough terrain and protect against IED's.(BAE Systems)
By Matt Sanchez
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