From: Ad 

Rich Gauszka wrote:
> "Robert G Lewis"  wrote in message
> news:4641dbaf{at}w3.nls.net...
>> And I caught a bit on the news yesterday saying our Mil Aircraft are
>> wearing out faster than expected
>>
>
> all equipment .  10 times what they've programmed for?
>
> http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7662481
> The Army operates several repair depots like this around the country, where
> mechanics fix vehicles, upgrade armor, and also work on broken radios,
> generators, and other military machines. It's a job that's become especially
> important as U.S. involvement continues in the Middle East. At a recent
> congressional hearing, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker said
> military hardware is under what he called "unprecedented stress."
>
> "The destruction of equipment, the wearing out of equipment has accelerated
> over what it was before," he said. "I mean we're wearing out
helicopters,
> trucks, Humvees, tanks at rates that are six, eight, 10 times in some cases
> what we're programmed for, so obviously combat action is destroying
> equipment we've committed."
>
>

Yeah it's mileage+ off road + hot & dusty + lack of love & care
(i.e. "field useage").

It's on of the true beauties of wheeled vehicles is that they're often
based on std commerical parts (e.g. truck drive train, suspension etc)
& unsurprisingly trucks cover long distances & are expected to work
well with 100'es of K on the clock.

Now tracked vehicles.......are not designed to criss cross continental
distances carrying heavy loads.....

The UK always used to do this prior really to the Blair era of fantasy ops
with no money....i.e. you have your heavy armor/tracked vehicles for the
"assault phase" & then saxon/saracen/saladin armoured
cars/trucks etc for the "colonial policing" follow up.

But then.....the army ran into the Chancellor & his political
priorities trumped any mil common sense....so most wheeled armored vehicles
were.....retired. The only reason we had the semi-armored landrovers
available was coz the IRA et al had downed arms.

As such we've had very expensive to operate tracked vehicles coz Brown
couldn't be arsed to provide UK PBI with South African style wheeled
Mine/IED proofed vehicles. Again though.....no effing sense as the costs of
operating Challenger & FV432 (which were pulled out of reserve &
people had to be retrained for.....) would have paid for the
trucks.....which could then have been used in Afghanistan etc.etc. but
hey....Scots & sense are never close when money may have to be spent.



Adam

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