The Wrong Equipment
Because of the large Marine presence it is not surprising that this report appeared on Sign On San Diego.
We are informed: “…the amphibious assault vehicle [AAV]- the Marine Corps’ signature transport – is designed to carry troops in water operations from ship to shore, then operate on the beach and inland…”, which makes its use in a desert hundreds of miles from any significant beach a bit of a problem.
Because it is required to be amphibious, the AAV uses lighter armor than the Army personnel carriers. This difference in armor results in much higher casualty rates among the Marines who encounter roadside bombs. Although the Marines make up a quarter of the forces in Iraq, 49% of the casualties in the last four months of 2004 were Marines.
My concern is: what happened to the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle? The article was published in December of 2000 and talks about a 2005 deployment. The AAAV offers more protection to the personnel inside, so what happened?
I would assume it was another victim of Rumsfeld’s “vision” for the military. His belief in his program, and his continuing spending decisions in the face of the reality of conditions in Iraq is getting people killed.
