July 19, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9601 brother J.T., who is also currently MRAP 207 to 247 would still be alive today if serving in Iraq; and the rest of the Mr. BIDEN. Madam President, I want they had been in MRAPs. We need to Smallwood family during this trying to explain an amendment I hope to get make sure that for the second half of time. adopted when we return to the Defense 2007, those MRAPs are there and those SERGEANT ROBB ROLFING authorization bill and that I have filed lives are saved. Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I today. What about the threat from these mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Let me be very frank. This is a very shaped charges that come in from the Rob Rolfing. Robb died on June 30 expensive amendment. It is also, lit- side, the EFP? The Army’s Rapid while engaging enemy insurgents in erally, priceless. It makes good on this Equipping Force and the Joint Impro- Baghdad. He was the 23rd South Dako- commitment: So long as a single Amer- vised Explosive Device Defeat Organi- tan to make the ultimate sacrifice in ican soldier or marine remains in Iraq, zation started working on that last the war on terror. My deepest sym- we will provide him or her with the year. In conjunction with industry, pathies go out to Robb’s family, in par- best protection this country can pro- they produced a vehicle nicknamed ticular, his mother Margie, his father vide. ‘‘the Bull’’ and officially called the Rex, his brother TJ, and his sister Tif- Let me start with the basics. There Highly Survivable Urban Vehicle Bal- fany. With Robb’s tragic death, South are two critical issues facing our sol- listic Protection Experiment Program. Dakota has lost one of its finest sons diers and marines today: improvised This vehicle was tested and shown to and the Army has lost a dedicated pro- explosive devices, or IEDs, and explo- defeat EFPs and also tested against the fessional. sively formed penetrators, or EFPs. first level of MRAP requirements. That Robb was from Sioux Falls and grad- IEDs are planted in roads and on the testing was completed in March of this uated from O’Gorman High School in side of roads to hit the bottom of vehi- year. For some reason, the military 1996. His love of science and ingenuity cles with powerful explosives. EFPs are has not asked for another vehicle to do was inspired by television’s MacGyver. shaped charges that come into the side the MRAP level two tests. So we do not Those who remember Robb from high armor of vehicles at high speeds. actually know how capable this vehicle school like to recount how Robb was We know that IEDs now cause about might be for all threats, but we know never without duct tape or a Swiss 70 percent of all American fatalities. it works against EFPs. Instead of try- Army knife. Another of their favorite Since 2003, in any given month, IEDs ing to get ahead of the enemy and get stories is how Robb rigged up a make- have caused between 30 and 76 percent this technology into the field, the mili- shift parachute for his graduation cap of American fatalities. For every tary seems to be sitting on its hands so that when he threw it in the air it death, there are usually 2 to 10 Ameri- while the EFP threat has increased. glided back down to the ground. cans wounded. Over the past year, we As Robb grew it was clear that he Why wouldn’t you field something you have also seen a growing threat from was a gifted scholar, athlete, leader, know works? EFPs. They are not yet everywhere in The perfect vehicle would be a com- and coach. He dedicated himself to the Iraq, but they are spreading and they plete MRAP with EFP protection, but pursuit of excellence in every aspect of his life. He was a passionate soccer are very lethal. that appears to be many months away, The military has a strategy for deal- player who excelled on and off the field although some MRAP producers tell ing with both. First, they seek to dis- at Vassar College. He finished his colle- me that their vehicles have survived rupt the organizations that produce giate career with a degree in Astro- EFP hits in the field. So again, we do IEDs and EFPs. They go after the peo- physics and was twice named the cap- not have the complete picture. We have ple and the supplies. Second, they at- tain of the Vassar soccer team, scored also been told that Frag-Kit-6 armor tempt to use tactics and technology to the winning goal to advance his team can defeat EFPs, but it is too heavy for prevent IEDs and EFPs from being ac- to Vassar’s first ever national tour- MRAPs. So vehicles must be redesigned nament, and was the team’s second all- tivated when American personnel are and retested. This will take time. I un- time leader in goals, assists, and close enough to be harmed. Third, they derstand that and support that effort, points. Following graduation from col- attempt to survive a direct hit. It is but Americans are dying today. Again, lege, Robb coached soccer at Rollins the third area where we could and as with the MRAP, we have a tech- College in Florida and Curry College in should have done much more to make a nology that could keep them alive, and Massachusetts. difference years ago but where still we should be using it while we work to When the United States was attacked today we can and must make a dif- perfect it. on September 11, 2001, Robb pursued ference. I do not know if all of my colleagues another of his dreams. He joined the The military has tested, both at test- saw the USA Today article that ap- U.S. Army and became a member of the ing centers and in the field, the Mine peared on Monday detailing some of Green Berets, the Army’s elite experts Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle, the history surrounding the MRAP. I in unconventional warfare. Based on also called an MRAP. The MRAP pro- will summarize a few points but will Robb’s dedication to excellence and his vides dramatically improved protec- ask to have the entire article printed mechanical ingenuity it came as no tion against IEDs. The military has in the RECORD. surprise that Robb served as the spe- said that it is four to five times as good This article details efforts to get cial forces engineer for his unit, Bravo as an up-armored HMMWV. More im- MRAPs going back to 2003. It also de- Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special portant, military commanders tell us tails the reasons for delay, and that is Forces Group, airborne. Special forces that it will reduce deaths and casual- what I want to point out to my col- engineers are skilled at construction ties from IEDs by 67 to 80 percent. The leagues. projects, building field fortifications, Brookings Institution found that 1,400 First, apparently, the leadership at and using explosive demolitions. Look- Americans died in Iraq due to IEDs the Pentagon did not expect this war ing back over Robb’s life, it seems that from March of 2003 through June of to last this long. Well, that is no sur- his whole experience was designed to 2007. If we had had MRAPs in the field prise. We all remember the ‘‘Mission culminate in gaining the coveted Army from the start—and we could and Accomplished’’ speech and the promise Green Beret that is recognized the should have—938 to 1,120 Americans of roses in the streets. We remember world over. would be alive today. Vice President CHENEY telling us that Green Berets are commonly called And let me just clarify for my col- the insurgency was in its death throes. quiet professionals and referred to as a leagues that this is not new tech- We remember Secretary Rumsfeld tell- special breed of man. Robb was both nology. It has been used successfully in ing us that crime in Baghdad was not these things and truly lived the Green Africa, by nations much poorer than any worse than that in Washington, Beret motto, De Oppresso Liber, To ours, since the 1970s. I don’t want to DC. I remember all of that. Sadly, none Liberate the Oppressed. get bogged down in history, but this is of those leaders remember the hearings Mr. President, I truly mourn the loss not rocket science. Every day we delay, that Senator LUGAR and I held before of SGT Robb Rolfing and I extend my another soldier or marine is killed or the war began that predicted the need thoughts, prayers, and best wishes to injured by an IED. If we just look at for a long-term American presence and his family, friends, and loved ones. this year, IEDs killed 309 Americans; engagement. They don’t remember

VerDate Aug 31 2005 07:37 Jul 20, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19JY6.005 S19JYPT1 cnoel on PRODPC60 with SENATE_CN S9602 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 19, 2007 some of us, starting before the war, re- hind. I was happy to see the Secretary No one from the Pentagon has been peatedly urged the President to level of the Army, Peter Geren, state clearly able to explain it to me. with the American people about the in his confirmation hearing that he be- Last, some argue that the real prob- likely duration, cost, and danger of lieves MRAPs will be needed in future lem is production capacity. I simply this war. Perhaps even more tragically, conflicts. It is clear to me that until don’t buy it. We are being told that this uncertainty about future force lev- we show America’s enemies that we American industry cannot handle this els continues to limit the military can handle IEDs, they will continue to or does not care enough about our sol- commitment to fielding more MRAPs use them throughout the world. We are diers and marines to do it. I don’t buy and EFP protected vehicles. already seeing an increased use of IEDs it. These are purely military vehicles. Second, these vehicles were seen as in Afghanistan. If the military does not place the or- contrary to Secretary Rumsfeld’s vi- It is also clear to me that those who ders, industry will not build them, and sion for the transformed military, a worry about what the military will be they certainly won’t create new pro- lighter, more agile force. While it de- driving in 5 years are missing the boat duction capacity. They cannot sell the pends on what armored humvee you are here. I understand that there are great extras to your neighbor or mine. So we talking about, many believed that advancements being developed for our must put the money up front and chal- MRAPs were heavier and slower than future force. But we have a sacred lenge our companies to deliver quickly. humvees. The stifling effect Secretary trust to those on the front lines today, We did that on the supplemental where Rumsfeld’s views and management right now. Right now, we are saying to Congress accepted my amendment add- style had on military leaders is well them: If you survive this war, we will ing $1.2 billion. Because that led to in- known to everyone who follows mili- get you really good protection for the creased production capacity, Secretary tary issues. In this instance, it meant next one. Give me a break. To para- Gates has reprogrammed another $1.2 that officers were predisposed against phrase a former Secretary of Defense, billion for fiscal year 2007 to take ad- the heavier vehicle and didn’t push the you fight the war you are in, not the vantage of that new capacity. issue when our forces in the field asked war you might be in down the road. We made it to the Moon by putting for MRAP technology. Instead, they fo- Ideally, you do both, but your priority money up front and challenging Ameri- has to be protecting the men and cused on the first two parts of the anti- cans to do their best to get there. women under fire now. End of story. IED strategy I talked about earlier. MRAPs and EFP protected vehicles are Finally, and most disturbing to me, Can anyone imagine Roosevelt saying, basically modified trucks. America many believed that Congress would not ‘‘Listen, we may not need some of knows how to make trucks and how to support funding the MRAP while also those boats after Normandy, so maybe make a lot of them. As I said before, we should not build so many?’’ Of fielding better armored humvees. I do this is not rocket science. If we buy it, course not. War is inherently wasteful not know of a single wartime funding they will build it. and this war is no exception. I am will- request that Congress has denied. What if they cannot? What if indus- ing to waste money and equipment if it There have been some items added to try can only get 15,000 or 20,000 of the means we don’t waste lives and limbs. the supplemental bills that were clear- 23,000 we need built by the end of fiscal The fact that we may not need all of ly not urgent or war related, but noth- year 2008? Well, I tell my colleagues, the vehicles we buy today in 5 years, is ing directly linked to current oper- than we will know that we gave them no reason to shortchange the soldiers ations was refused. Nonetheless, it ap- every chance to succeed. More impor- and marines who truly need the vehi- pears that the military did not believe tant, we gave our soldiers and marines cles today. that our support for needed equipment I have given my colleagues some of their best chance to survive this war. And the downside is simply that all was for real. Even today, I hear that this history so they will understand of the funds we provide cannot be spent leaders are concerned that they must why we must stand up for our marines in 1 year and all of the vehicles cannot cut multiple existing programs to pay and soldiers on this issue. We must cut be purchased. In that situation, all we for this growing MRAP requirement. through the ‘‘business as usual’’ bu- have to do is authorize reprogramming There may be programs that we could reaucracy. I applaud Secretary Gates the unspent funds for the next fiscal all agree are not as vital for a wartime for making MRAPs the top priority of Army, but I do not want that debate the military, but I am concerned that year. Compared to taking a chance on and concern to slow lifesaving equip- even now, some of the same problems saving our kids, that is an easy down- ment. continue. After all, Army commanders side to accept. I opened by saying that this was a I understand that this program will in Iraq concluded that they need 17,700 very expensive amendment, and it is. be the third largest procurement pro- MRAPs. That is 15,200 more than cur- Let me be clear. It provides $23.6 bil- gram in the Pentagon. As I said, it is rently being bought. We must act now very costly. We can work together in to put money in the pipeline to order lion for Army MRAPs, enough money the future to find the lower priority the additional vehicles and expand pro- to buy the 15,200 the commanders in programs that simply should not be duction capacity. the field are asking for. The amount is funded if they are competing with life- Instead, we find out that 2 months based on the last cost estimate I was saving programs. We do not have any later, the Joint Requirements Over- given by the Pentagon on July 9. The more time to delay spending the money sight Council has yet to approve the amendment also provides an additional needed to buy these vehicles, however, Army request as a ‘‘validated joint re- $1 billion that I have been told is need- if we are going to save lives. quirement.’’ I don’t get it. ed for the purchase of 7,774 MRAPs cur- Leadership is about making hard The President tells us that the most rently planned for and funded in this choices, and I look forward to working important thing in this war is the judg- bill. The increased funds are needed for with my colleagues and the adminis- ment of our commanders in the field. airlift, training, and maintenance costs tration to do whatever it takes. I am Now, I may disagree with the policy not originally included in the program even willing to cut programs I support being executed, but I would agree that budget. because saving lives and limbs under when it comes to tactical decisions In addition, the amendment provides fire today must truly be our first pri- about the best way to implement our $400 million for EFP protection. Half is ority. So, today, with this amendment policies, this is the right approach. Ap- to field 200 of the vehicles already test- I hope we can make it clear that we parently, others feel that the com- ed and half is for the joint Improvised will provide whatever funding is need- manders should only be listened to se- Explosive Device Defeat Organization ed, so that military leaders do not fear lectively, when it does not cost too to continue to work on and field better being honest about their needs. much money. vehicles. The Bull may not be the per- In addition to the issues brought out The commanders in the field have fect answer, but it gives us a chance to in the article, I have also heard a reg- said that they need an additional 15,200 save American lives today. While we ular concern that some in the military mine resistant vehicles for the Army. work on the perfect solution, an MRAP do not believe MRAPs will be needed in They have also said that they need with EFP protection, we should still be the future—that when we leave Iraq, thousands of vehicles with EFP protec- giving our soldiers and marines the we will leave most of these vehicles be- tion. So, why the delay? best we have today. The military needs

VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:57 Jul 20, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19JY6.009 S19JYPT1 cnoel on PRODPC60 with SENATE_CN July 19, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9603 to see if the Bull can provide full when Marines in Iraq asked the Pentagon for identical to the MRAPs sought by U.S. MRAP protection. They also need to almost 1,200 of the vehicles. USA TODAY forces then and now, and made in the United look at other ideas for improving found that the first appeals for the MRAP States by BAE Systems—was issued in May MRAPs, but while they do, we should came much earlier. 2006. The vehicles, called Badgers, began ar- As early as December 2003, when the Ma- riving in Iraq 90 days later, according to take advantage of the proven tech- rines requested their first 27 MRAPs for ex- BAE. In September 2006, the Pentagon said it nology we have at hand. plosives-disposal teams, Pentagon analysts would provide up to 600 more to Iraqi forces. Last, this amendment asks Secretary sent detailed information about the superi- As of this spring, 400 had been delivered. Gates to report back to us within 30 ority of the vehicles to the Joint Chiefs of The rush to equip the Iraqis stood in stark days on any legal authorities he needs Staff, e-mails obtained by USA TODAY contrast to the Pentagon’s efforts to protect to produce and field these protective show. Later pleas came from Iraq, where U.S. troops. In February 2005, two months after Nadeau vehicles faster. commanders saw that the approach the Joint Chiefs embraced—adding armor to the sides solicited ideas for better armor for the Iraqis Let me also clarify what we are add- and was told MRAPs were an answer, an ur- ing these funds to. The Armed Services of Humvees, the standard vehicles in the war zone—did little to protect against blasts be- gent-need request for the same type of vehi- Committee added $4.1 billion to the neath the vehicles. cle came from embattled Marines in Anbar President’s initial request for a mere Despite the efforts, the general who province. The request, signed by then-briga- $441 million for MRAPs in this bill. At chaired the Joint Chiefs until Oct. 1, 2005, dier general Dennis Hejlik, said the Marines the time, that was all that was thought says buying MRAPs ‘‘was not on the radar ‘‘cannot continue to lose . . . serious and screen when I was chairman.’’ Air Force gen- grave casualties to IEDs . . . at current rates to be needed to meet the 7,774 require- when a commercial off-the-shelf capability ment and I applaud the committee for eral Richard Myers, now retired, says top military officials dealt with a number of ve- exists to mitigate’’ them. meeting that need. The situation has Officials at Marine headquarters in hicle issues, including armoring Humvees. Quantico, Va., shelved the request for 1,169 changed since the bill came out of com- The MRAP, however, was ‘‘not one of them.’’ vehicles. Fifteen months passed before a sec- mittee. We now know that the Army Something related to MRAPs ‘‘might have ond request reached the Joint Chiefs and was commanders on the ground want far crossed my desk,’’ Myers says, ‘‘but I don’t approved. Those vehicles finally began trick- more. We cannot get such a large order recall it.’’ ling into Anbar in February, two years after Why the issue never received more of a produced if we continue to delay. the original request. Because of the delay, hearing from top officials early in the war For me, this is very simple. I believe the Marines are investigating how its ur- that when our sons and daughters are remains a mystery, given the chorus of con- gent-need requests are handled. getting blown up and we have vehicles cern. One Pentagon analyst complained in an The long delay infuriates some members of proven to dramatically improve their April 29, 2004, e-mail to colleagues, for in- Congress. ‘‘Every day, our troops are being stance, that it was ‘‘frustrating to see the maimed or killed needlessly because we odds of survival, we must get the vehi- pictures of burning Humvees while knowing cles to them. This amendment allows haven’t fielded this soon enough,’’ says Rep. that there are other vehicles out there that Gene Taylor, D–Miss. ‘‘The costs are in us to do that. When the Senate returns would provide more protection.’’ human lives, in kids who will never have to debate on the Defense Authorization The analyst was referring to the MRAP, their legs again, people blind, crippled. Act, I hope all of my colleagues will whose V-shaped hull puts the crew more That’s the real tragedy.’’ support it. than 3 feet off the ground and deflects explo- Not until two months ago did the Pentagon Madam President, I ask unanimous sions. It was designed to withstand the un- champion the MRAP for all U.S. forces. consent to have the article to which I derbelly bombs that cripple the lower-riding Gates made MRAPs the military’s top pri- Humvees. Pentagon officials, civilians and ority. The plan is to build the vehicles as referred printed in the RECORD. military alike, had been searching for tech- fast as possible until conditions warrant a There being no objection, the mate- nologies to guard against improvised explo- change, according to a military official who rial was ordered to be printed in the sive devices, or IEDs. The makeshift bombs has direct knowledge of the program but is RECORD, as follows: are the No. 1 killer of U.S. forces. not authorized to speak on the record. Thou- [From USA Today, July 16, 2007] The MRAP was not new to the Pentagon. sands are in the pipeline at a cost so far of PENTAGON BALKED AT PLEAS FROM OFFICERS The technology had been developed in South about $2.4 billion. IN FIELD FOR SAFER VEHICLES Africa and Rhodesia in the 1970s, making it Gates said he was influenced by a news re- older than Kincaid and most of the other port—originally in USA TODAY—that dis- (By Peter Eisler, Blake Morrison and Tom troops killed by homemade bombs. The Pen- closed Marine units using MRAPs in Anbar Vanden Brook) tagon had tested MRAPs in 2000, purchased reported no deaths in about 300 roadside Pfc. Aaron Kincaid, 25, had been joking fewer than two dozen and sent some to Iraq. bombings in the past year. His tone was with buddies just before their Humvee rolled They were used primarily to protect explo- grave. ‘‘For every month we delay,’’ he said, over the bomb. His wife, Rachel, later sive ordnance disposal teams, not to trans- ‘‘scores of young Americans are going to learned that the blast blew Kincaid, a father port troops or to chase Iraqi insurgents. die.’’ of two from outside Atlanta, through the One reason officials put off buying MRAPs THE GOAL: IRAQIS ‘‘STAND UP’’ SO U.S. CAN Humvee’s metal roof. in significant quantities: They never ex- ‘‘STAND DOWN’’ Army investigators who reviewed the Sept. pected the war to last this long. Bush set the 23 attack near Riyadh, Iraq, wrote in their Even as the Pentagon balked at buying tone on May 1, 2003, six weeks after the U.S. report that only providence could have saved MRAPs for U.S. troops, USA TODAY found invasion, when he declared on board the air- Kincaid from dying that day: ‘‘There was no that the military pushed to buy them for a craft carrier Abraham Lincoln that ‘‘major way short of not going on that route at that different fighting force: the Iraqi army. combat operations in Iraq have ended.’’ time (that) this tragedy could have been di- On Dec. 22, 2004—two weeks after President Gen. George Casey, the top commander in verted.’’ Bush told families of servicemembers that Iraq from June 2004 until February this year, A USA TODAY investigation of the Penta- ‘‘we’re doing everything we possibly can to repeatedly said that troop levels in Iraq gon’s efforts to protect troops in Iraq sug- protect your loved ones’’—a U.S. Army gen- would be cut just as soon as Iraqi troops gests otherwise. eral solicited ideas for an armored vehicle took more responsibility for security. In Years before the war began, Pentagon offi- for the Iraqis. The Army had an ‘‘extreme in- March 2005, he predicted ‘‘very substantial cials knew of the effectiveness of another terest’’ in getting troops better armor, then- reductions’’ in U.S. troops by early 2006. He type of vehicle that better shielded troops brigadier general Roger Nadeau told a subor- said virtually the same thing a year later. from bombs like those that have killed dinate looking at foreign technology, in an Casey wasn’t the only optimist. In May Kincaid and 1,500 other soldiers and Marines. e-mail obtained by USA TODAY. 2005, Vice President Cheney declared that But military officials repeatedly balked at In a follow-up message, Nadeau clarified the insurgency was ‘‘in its last throes.’’ appeals—from commanders on the battlefield his request: ‘‘What I failed to point out in Given the view that the war would end and from the Pentagon’s own staff—to pro- my first message to you folks is that the soon, the Pentagon had little use for expen- vide the lifesaving Mine Resistant Ambush U.S. Govt. is interested not for U.S. use, but sive new vehicles such as the MRAP, at least Protected vehicle, or MRAP, for patrols and for possible use in fielding assets to the Iraqi not in large quantities. The MRAPs ordered combat missions, USA TODAY found. military forces.’’ for the Iraqis were intended to speed the day In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert In response, Lt. Col. Clay Brown, based in when, to use Bush’s words, Iraqi forces could Gates late last month, two U.S. senators said Australia, sent information on two types of ‘‘stand up’’ and the United States could the delays cost the lives of an estimated ‘‘621 MRAPs manufactured overseas. ‘‘By all ac- ‘‘stand down.’’ to 742 Americans’’ who would have survived counts, these are some of the best in the Nadeau, who wrote the e-mail that led to explosions had they been in MRAPs rather world,’’ he wrote. ‘‘If I were fitting out the MRAPs for the Iraqis, explains why he did than Humvees. Iraqi Army, this is where I’d look (wish we so: ‘‘The U.S. government knows that even- The letter, from Sens. Joseph Biden, D– had some!)’’ tually we’re going to get out’’ of Iraq. The Del., and Kit Bond, R–Mo., assumed the ini- The first contract for what would become United States wants ‘‘to help get (the Iraqis) tial calls for MRAPs came in February 2005, the Iraqi Light Armored Vehicle—virtually in a position to take care of themselves.’’

VerDate Aug 31 2005 07:37 Jul 20, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G19JY6.010 S19JYPT1 cnoel on PRODPC60 with SENATE_CN S9604 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 19, 2007 For U.S. forces, however, the answer was When the Pentagon added armor to the Then, as now, Hunter was impatient with something else: adding armor to Humvees. sides of Humvees to guard against bombs the pace of procurement in Iraq. That win- Nadeau and others say the choice made sense planted along roadsides, the insurgents re- ter, he had dispatched his staff to steel mills, because Humvees were already in Iraq and sponded by burying bombs in the roads. The where they persuaded managers and union the improvements—adding steel to the sides, bombs could blast through the vulnerable leaders to set aside commercial orders to ex- upgrading the windows and replacing the underbelly of the Humvees. The insurgents pedite steel needed to armor the Humvees. canvas doors—could be made quickly, and far also moved to larger, more sophisticated He also worked with the Army and its con- more cheaply. Adding armor to a Humvee bombs, some packed with as much as 100 tractors to expand production. cost only $14,000; a Humvee armored at the pounds of explosives. In Fallujah, Hunter recognized the factory cost $191,000; today, an MRAP costs Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon Eng- Humvees. He couldn’t identify the two vehi- between $600,000 and $1 million, though some land, the No. 2 official at the Pentagon, tes- cles next to them. One was called a Cougar, foreign models cost only about $200,000 in tified on Capitol Hill in June that ‘‘as the the other a Buffalo. Both were MRAPs, made 2004. threat has evolved, we have evolved. We by Force Protection Inc., and both, he was The solution to the IED problem in 2003 work very, very hard to be responsible to our told, were coveted. They were used by explo- had to be ‘‘immediate,’’ says retired vice ad- troops.’’ sives disposal teams, but combat units miral Gordon Holder, director for logistics Taylor, the Democratic congressman from ‘‘looked at them and said, ‘We want those,’’’ for the Joint Chiefs until mid-2004. ‘‘We had Mississippi, pressed England about why the Hunter recalls. to stop the bleeding.’’ Holder says MRAPs Pentagon waited until May to request sub- Throughout most of Iraq, they still haven’t seemed impractical for the immediate need: stantial numbers of MRAPs. ‘‘Are you tell- arrived. ‘‘We shouldn’t take four years to field some- ing me no one could see that (need) coming, Despite requests from the field, Pentagon thing the kids needed yesterday.’’ no one could recognize that the bottom of officials decided to ration the vehicle. In 2003 Would it actually have taken four years? the Humvee’’ didn’t protect troops, and and 2004, they bought about 55, and only for That depends upon how much urgency the ‘‘that’s why the kids inside are losing their explosives-disposal units. But they chose a Pentagon and Congress attached to speeding legs and their lives?’’ Taylor asked. different approach for protecting the rest of production. Force Protection Inc., the small ‘‘That is too simplistic a description,’’ the troops: adding armor to Humvees. The South Carolina company that landed the England replied. ‘‘People have not died need- choice was problematic. The Humvee’s flat first significant MRAP contracts, was criti- lessly, and we have not left our people with- bottom channels an explosion through the cized this month by the Pentagon’s inspector out equipment.’’ center of the vehicle, toward the occupants. general for failing to deliver its vehicles on To Pentagon decision-makers, the Humvee Memos and e-mails obtained by USA time. But bigger defense contractors were seemed able to handle the threat early in the TODAY show a stream of concerns about the available then—and have secured MRAP con- war—roadside bombs, rather than those bur- decision to armor the Humvee. Most went up tracts in recent weeks that call for deliveries ied in the roads. ‘‘If anybody could have the chain of command and withered: in as little as four months. guessed in 2003 that we would be looking at December 2003: At the direction of then- A bigger obstacle might have been philo- these kind of (high-powered, buried) IEDs deputy Defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, sophical: The MRAP didn’t fit the Penta- that we’re seeing now in 2007, then we would who was troubled by the mounting death toll gon’s long-term vision of how the military have been looking at something much from IEDs, the Joint Chiefs began to explore should be equipped. longer’’ term as a solution, Holder says. options for giving troops better armor. De- Then-Defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld ‘‘But who had the crystal ball back then?’’ tailed information on the Wer’Wolf, an regarded the Iraq war ‘‘as a means to Nadeau, now a major general in charge of MRAP made in the African country of Na- change’’ the military, ‘‘make it lighter, the Army’s Test and Evaluation Command in mibia, was passed from analysts in the Pen- make it more responsive, make it more Alexandria, Va., also defends the Pentagon’s tagon to Lt. Col. Steven Ware, an aide col- agile,’’ Holder says. The MRAP, heavier and choices. He says buried IEDs did not become lecting information for the Joint Chiefs. slower than the Humvee, wouldn’t have a serious threat to the armored Humvees March 30, 2004: Gen. Larry Ellis, in charge measured up, he says. until 2006. Critics might say, ‘‘Why didn’t of U.S. Forces Command in Atlanta, sent a THE COMMANDER: ‘‘IEDS ARE MY NO. 1 THREAT’’ you guys buy 16,000 MRAPs a decade ago?’’ memo to the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. By June 2004, the military had lost almost Nadeau says today. ‘‘You know, I didn’t need Peter Schoomaker. He complained that 200 U.S. troops to the homemade bombs. Gen. them.’’ ‘‘some Army members and agencies are still Six officers interviewed by USA TODAY John Abizaid, then head of U.S. Central in a peacetime posture.’’ U.S. commanders in say the threat to the Humvees surfaced soon- Command, told the Joint Chiefs that ‘‘IEDs Iraq told him that the armored Humvee ‘‘is er. Lt. Col. Dallas Eubanks, chief of oper- are my No. 1 threat.’’ He called for a ‘‘mini- not providing the solution the Army hoped ations for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division Manhattan Project’’ against IEDs, akin to to achieve.’’ He didn’t recommend MRAPs in 2003–04, says IEDs became more menacing the task force that developed the atomic but rather suggested accelerating production before he left Iraq. ‘‘We were certainly see- bomb during World War II. of a combat vehicle called the Stryker. In re- The Pentagon organized a small task force ing underground IEDs by early 2004,’’ he sponse, the military said new Humvee armor that, two years later, morphed into a full- says. kits would suffice. In mid-2005, two top Marines—Gen. Wil- fledged agency: the Joint IED Defeat Organi- April 28–29, 2004: Duncan Lang, a Pentagon liam Nyland, assistant Marine commandant, zation, or JIEDDO. Its leader, Montgomery analyst who worked in acquisition and tech- and Maj. Gen. William Catto, head of Marine Meigs, is a retired four-star general. Its an- nology, suggested purchasing the Wer’Wolf, Corps Systems Command—testified before nual budget totals $4.3 billion. Its mission: to the MRAP put before the Joint Chiefs in De- Congress that they were seeing an ‘‘evolv- stop IEDs from killing U.S. troops. cember 2003. In an e-mail to colleagues and In one of its PowerPoint presentations, ing’’ threat from underbelly blasts. They supervisors, Lang said ‘‘a number could be JIEDDO made its priorities clear. First, pre- said at the time that armored Humvees re- sent to Iraq ‘‘as quickly as, or even more vent IEDs from being planted by attacking mained their best defense. quickly than, additional armored Humvees.’’ the insurgency. Then, if a device is planted, THE CONGRESSMAN: MRAP’S ‘‘SIMPLE’’ He called it ‘‘frustrating to see the pictures prevent it from exploding. ‘‘When all Else ADVANTAGE of burning Humvees while knowing that Fails,’’ reads another slide, ‘‘Survive the Just after lunch on June 27, 2004, a group of there are other vehicles out there that would blast.’’ That put solutions such as the MRAP enlisted men parked a handful of armored provide more protection.’’ into the category of last resorts. vehicles near a cinderblock building at Ma- April 30, 2004: Another Pentagon analyst, JIEDDO did spend its own money for 122 rine headquarters in Fallujah, Iraq. Air Force Lt. Col. Bob Harris, forwarded de- MRAPs, but it primarily focused on elec- The day had turned sweltering, like every tails about MRAP options to a member of tronic jammers to prevent bombs from being summer afternoon in central Iraq. But this the IED task force. The list included a vari- remotely detonated, unmanned surveillance day was special. A congressional delegation ety of MRAPs, among them the Wer’Wolf aircraft to catch insurgents putting bombs had arrived, and among the dignitaries was and Force Protection’s Cougar. ‘‘There was along roads and better intelligence on who Rep. Duncan Hunter, then the chairman of no great clarity as to why they didn’t pursue was building and planting bombs. the House Armed Services Committee. these options,’’ Harris says. ‘‘I saw it as my The agency has claimed some successes. Hunter wasn’t just a powerful congressman. job to educate.’’ Harris is now an acquisition Insurgents in 2007 had to plant six times as He was a Vietnam War veteran, and his son, officer at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massa- many bombs as they did in 2004 to inflict the then a 27-year-old Marine lieutenant also chusetts. same number of U.S. casualties, Meigs said named Duncan, was stationed at the base. Hunter says the advantages the MRAP had in an interview. More important to most of the Marines, on the Humvee were clear. ‘‘It’s a simple for- But the insurgents—Sunnis loyal to the de- the California Republican had been instru- mula,’’ Hunter says. ‘‘A vehicle that’s 1 foot posed leader Saddam Hussein, Shiites who mental in pushing the Pentagon to get bet- off the ground gets 16 times that (blast) im- hated the U.S. occupiers and foreigners ter armor for them. Humvees with cloth pact that you get in a vehicle that’s 4 feet off aligned with al-Qaeda—often managed to doors—canvas, like the crusher hat that the ground,’’ like the MRAP. stay one step ahead of JIEDDO. They Hunter wore that day—had been standard Although Hunter favored adding armor to changed the kind of explosives they planted issue when the war began. The fabric worked Humvees, he now calls the military’s devo- and varied the locations of the devices and well to shield the sun; it offered no protec- tion to that approach a costly mistake. ‘‘It’s the way they detonated them. tion against explosives. true that they saved more lives by moving

VerDate Aug 31 2005 07:37 Jul 20, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19JY6.091 S19JYPT1 cnoel on PRODPC60 with SENATE_CN July 19, 2007 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S9605 first on up-armoring the Humvees,’’ he says. feld about the lack of armor on military ve- ‘‘Currently, our underprotected vehicles ‘‘The flaw is that they did nothing on hicles. Rumsfeld explained the situation this result in casualties that are politically un- MRAPs. The up-armoring of Humvees didn’t way: ‘‘You go to war with the Army you tenable and militarily unnecessary,’’ his have to be an exclusive operation.’’ have. They’re not the Army you might want paper read. ‘‘Failure to build a MRAP vehi- Holder dismisses the idea that the Pen- or wish to have at a later time.’’ cle fleet produces a deteriorating cascade of tagon could have moved on a dual track: ar- The concerns troops voiced at the meeting effects that will substantially increase’’ moring Humvees while ordering up MRAPs. might have had an impact. Within a week, risks for the military while ‘‘rendering it He doubts Congress would have funded both the Marine Corps Systems Command in tactically immobile.’’ Mines and IEDs will at the time. But that’s exactly what Con- Quantico posted its first notice seeking in- force U.S. troops off the roads, he wrote, and gress is doing now—buying both vehicles. formation on MRAPs from potential contrac- keep them from aggressively attacking in- ‘‘We probably should’ve had the foresight’’ tors. surgents. to start buying MRAPs earlier, says Ware, Back in Fallujah, the desire for the Cougar The words were strong and the conclusions the Joint Chiefs aide (now retired) who had grown. By February 2005, the Marines were damning. Rhodesia, a nation with noth- passed the information to superiors and were formally asking for more. Field com- ing near the resources of the U.S. military, counterparts in the Army and Marines. But manders sent their first large-scale request had built MRAPs more than a quarter-cen- ‘‘we just couldn’t get them there fast for MRAPs, seeking 1,169 vehicles with speci- tury earlier that remained ‘‘more survivable enough.’’ Adding armor to the Humvee, Ware fications that closely mirrored those of the than any comparable vehicle produced by the says, ‘‘was better than nothing.’’ Cougar. They no longer envisioned the vehi- U.S. today,’’ McGriff wrote. THE LIEUTENANT COLONEL: ‘‘HOPE NO ONE GETS cle as limited to explosives-disposal teams; Despite his views then, McGriff, now a WASTED’’ they wanted MRAPs for combat troops, too. lieutenant colonel, says he understands the A PowerPoint presentation, dated Aug. 25, Roy McGriff III, then a major, drafted the delays. MRAPs needed to be tested to ensure 2004, shows wounded troops lying in hospital request signed by Brig. Gen. Hejlik. ‘‘MRAP they could perform in combat. ‘‘Nothing hap- beds. Most are bandaged. One is bloody. His vehicles will protect Marines, reduce casual- pens fast enough when people are fighting left eye is barely open, his injured right is ties, increase mobility and enhance mission and dying,’’ he says today. ‘‘But amidst the covered by a patch. Each was maimed by an success,’’ the request read. ‘‘Without MRAP, chaos, you still have to make the right IED. Each, save one, was in a Humvee. personnel loss rates are likely to continue at choices. In the end, I think the Marines got On another slide: ‘‘Numerous vehicles on their current rate.’’ In spring 2005, he would the MRAP capability as quickly and safely the market provide far superior ballistic pro- have a chance to argue his case before top as possible.’’ tection’’ than the Humvee, wrote then-lieu- generals. Others disagree. tenant colonel Jim Hampton, the man who THE MARINE MAJOR: ‘‘UNNECESSARY’’ Marine major Franz Gayl, now retired, was prepared the presentation for the operations CASUALTIES science adviser to the 1st Marine Expedi- staff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in tionary Force in Iraq. He saw how Marines They convened March 29–30, 2005, at the Baghdad. were still being killed or maimed in Anbar in Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, Calif. Safety is a passion for Hampton. He’s so the fall of 2006. If the Marine Corps had de- The occasion: a safety board meeting, a reg- concerned with security that he asks his cided MRAPs were a top priority, he says, it ular gathering to address safety issues across wife, Kate, to take her pistol when she goes could and should have pursued them with the the Corps. In attendance: five three-star gen- for walks on their 80 acres in rural Mis- same urgency the Pentagon is now showing. erals, four two-stars, seven one-stars and sissippi. When he got to Iraq in early 2004, he ‘‘The ramp-up of industry capacity was de- McGriff. was tasked with looking at armor options to layed by over 11⁄2 years,’’ Gayl says, ‘‘until it McGriff knew the MRAP’s history and the protect the Corps of Engineers, the agency became the dire emergency that it is today.’’ Pentagon’s reluctance to invest in the vehi- sent to help with rebuilding efforts. For Bureaucrats didn’t want the MRAP sooner cle. He had learned about the vehicle from a weeks, he studied armor options. His conclu- ‘‘because it would compete against’’ armored fellow Marine, Wayne Sinclair. Sinclair, sion: The corps should get MRAPs to protect Humvees and ‘‘many other favored pro- then a captain, wrote in the July 1996 issue its people, specifically Wer’Wolves. Hampton grams’’ for funding, Gayl says. Gayl, who of the Marine Corps Gazette that ‘‘an afford- says he asked for 53 Wer’Wolves. The corps works as a civilian for the Marines at the able answer to the land mine was developed got four. Pentagon, has filed for federal whistleblower over 20 years ago. It’s time that Marines at Hampton couldn’t have been more opposed protection because he fears retaliation for the sharp end shared in . . . this discovery.’’ to up-armoring the Humvees and warned his speaking out about the failure to get MRAPs Addressing the generals, McGriff rec- superiors. He even e-mailed his wife from sooner. Iraq. ‘‘Hey Babe,’’ his e-mail read. ‘‘Just a ommended analyzing every incident involv- DEFENSE SECRETARY GATES: ‘‘LIVES ARE AT little aggravated with the bureaucracy. It is ing Marine vehicles the same way investiga- STAKE’’ simply beyond my comprehension why we’re tors probe aircraft crashes. Look at the vehi- having to go through such (an ordeal) to cle for flaws, McGriff recalls telling the offi- After McGriff addressed the generals in order confounded hard vehicles. I sure hope cers, and examine the tactics used to defeat March 2005, another 15 months passed. Then no one gets wasted before the powers-that-be it. the Marines in Iraq reiterated the request for get off their collective fat asses.’’ Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson, commander of MRAPs. This time they sent the request di- Finally, he wrote his congressman, Rep. Marine Corps Forces in the Pacific, and Lt. rectly to the Joint Chiefs. This time they Chip Pickering, R-Miss., urging him to inves- Gen. James Mattis, leader of the Marine were successful. tigate deaths involving the Humvee. ‘‘We Combat Development Command, listened In December 2006, after insurgent bombs would never consider sending troops’’ in and then conferred for a moment. had killed almost 1,200 U.S. troops in Iraq, Humvees ‘‘up against armor or artillery,’’ The room grew quiet. ‘‘Then they said, the Joint Chiefs validated requests from Iraq Hampton wrote, ‘‘but this is tantamount to ‘OK, what do you want to do?’’’ McGriff re- for 4,060 MRAPs, and the formal MRAP pro- what we’re doing because these vehicles are members. gram was launched. being engaged with the very ordnance deliv- He recited the very plan that the Pen- By March 2007, Marine Corps Commandant ered by artillery in the form of improvised tagon, under a new Defense secretary, would James Conway called the vehicle his ‘‘No. 1 explosive devices.’’ embrace in 2007: ‘‘A phased transition. Con- unfilled warfighting requirement.’’ By November 2004, Pentagon analyst Lang tinue to armor Humvees. At the same time, In part, that’s because he saw it save lives had grown discouraged, an e-mail shows. ‘‘I as quickly and as expeditiously as possible, in Anbar province. Brig. Gen. John Allen, have found that you can never put the word purchase as many MRAPs as possible. Phase deputy commander of coalition forces there, out too many times,’’ he wrote on Nov. 17. ‘‘I out Humvees.’’ says the Marines tracked attacks on MRAPs send it on to (the Secretary of Defense’s of- According to McGriff, the room again grew since January 2006. The finding: Marines in fice), Army and (Marine Corps) contacts I silent. Then, Mattis finally spoke: ‘‘That’s armored Humvees are twice as likely to be have. Some of it is getting to the rapid field- exactly what we’re going to do.’’ Mattis’ badly wounded in an IED attack as those in ing folks and force protection folks that are words failed to translate into action. The ur- MRAPs. looking at Iraq issues. I do not see much ac- gent-need request McGriff drafted went Perhaps more convincing: No Marines have tion.’’ unfulfilled at Marine headquarters in been killed in more than 300 attacks on Lang closed the message with a variation Quantico. A June 10, 2005, status report on MRAPs there. on his earlier plea: ‘‘For the life of me, I can- the request indicated the Marine Corps was The news, revealed in USA TODAY on not figure out why we have not taken better holding out for a ‘‘future vehicle,’’ presum- April 19, drew the attention of Defense Sec- advantage of the sources of such vehicles,’’ ably the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle—more retary Gates, four months into his job at the he wrote. ‘‘We should be buying 200, not 2, at mobile than the MRAP, more protective Pentagon. He was traveling in Iraq and read a time. These things work, they save lives than the Humvee, and due in 2012. In prac- about the MRAP’s success in the Pentagon’s and they don’t cost much, if any, more than tical terms, that meant no MRAPs imme- daily news roundup. Weeks later, at a news what we are using now.’’ At the time, a basic diately. conference, Gates said the Pentagon would Wer’Wolf cost about the same as a factory- McGriff foresaw some of the turmoil over rush MRAPs to Iraq ‘‘as best we can.’’ made armored Humvee: around $200,000. vehicles in a prophetic 2003 paper for the Late last month, top Pentagon officials ap- In December 2004, at a town hall meeting School for Advanced Warfighting in proved an Army strategy for buying as many with troops in Kuwait, a soldier asked Rums- Quantico. as 17,700 MRAPs, allowing a one-for-one swap

VerDate Aug 31 2005 06:57 Jul 20, 2007 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A19JY6.093 S19JYPT1 cnoel on PRODPC60 with SENATE_CN S9606 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE July 19, 2007 for its armored Humvees. About 5,200 MRAPs hit and walk away,’’ Miller says. ‘‘They’re inability or unwillingness to recognize had been approved for the other services. awesome, awesome vehicles.’’ this reality is diminishing our inter- Now, Pentagon officials decline to say ex- THE WIDOW: ‘‘THEY SHOULD’VE DONE IT’’ national credibility, straining our rela- actly how many MRAPs they need. SOONER tions with many foreign governments, One official says they’ll build MRAPs as Whom or what is to blame for the delay in and causing us to neglect weak and un- fast as possible, then recalibrate the mili- getting safer vehicles for the 158,000 U.S. tary’s needs as they assess operations in stable regions that could pose threats troops in Iraq? to our national security. Iraq, a tacit acknowledgment that they may Jim Hampton, now a retired colonel, ques- need fewer MRAPs as U.S. troops are with- tions why the Pentagon and Congress didn’t The administration’s single-minded drawn. do more to keep the troops safe. ‘‘I have col- focus on Iraq is preventing us from ade- During another news conference late last leagues who say people need to go to jail quately confronting threats of extre- month, Gates worried that the companies over this, and in my mind they do,’’ Hamp- mism and terrorism around the globe. building the MRAP—not only Force Protec- ton says. The declassified NIE released just yes- tion but BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Hunter, now running for president, blames terday confirms that al-Qaida remains Oshkosh Truck, Armor Holdings, Inter- the Pentagon bureaucracy, which he says national Military and Government and Pro- the most serious threat to the United ‘‘doesn’t move fast enough to meet the needs States and that key elements of that tected Vehicles—won’t be able to get the ve- of the war fighter. We have a system in hicles to Iraq fast enough. which the warfighting requirements are re- threat have been regenerated or even ‘‘I didn’t think that was acceptable,’’ quested from the field and the acquisition enhanced. The administration’s poli- Gates said. ‘‘Lives are at stake.’’ people say, ‘We’ll get it on our schedule.’’’ cies in Iraq have also resulted in the THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT: ‘‘SAFEST VEHICLE Other members of Congress blame Rums- emergence of an al-Qaida affiliate that EVER’’ feld and his vision of transforming the mili- did not exist before the war—al-Qaida As the sun egan to bake the Iraqi country- tary into a leaner, faster fighting force. in Iraq, or AQI. According to the NIE, side last month, Marine 2nd Lt. George Rep. John Murtha, D–Pa., wonders if al-Qaida’s association with this group Saenz headed back to his base on the out- Rumsfeld’s forceful personality silenced some of the generals. ‘‘Rumsfeld so intimi- helps it raise resources and recruit and skirts in Fallujah. He felt oddly joyful. indoctrinate operatives, including for Saenz had just spent hours leading his pla- dated the military that I’ve lost confidence toon through one of the most excruciating in them telling us what they really need’’ in attacks against the United States. battlefield jobs—inching a convoy along the Iraq, Murtha says. Yet, while this report is further proof crumbling streets of Fallujah, searching for ‘‘They all knew the Rumsfeld rule: Your that the war in Iraq is a distraction homemade bombs planted in the asphalt or career is over if you say anything contrary’’ from our core goal of fighting those dirt. to his policies, Murtha says. ‘‘It’s much bet- who attacked us on 9/11, this adminis- The night before had proved dangerous. ter now that Rumsfeld is gone. The military tration and its supporters are still call- Two bombs had blown up underneath Saenz’s is being much more honest.’’ ing Iraq the ‘‘central front in the war If the Pentagon ‘‘had just listened to the convoy, including one beneath his vehicle. on terror,’’ even though al-Qaida is a As Saenz turned through the gray blast guys in the field’’ who wanted MRAPs, Mur- walls protecting the base, he says he tha says, ‘‘we’d have them in Iraq right global threat and AQI is one of a num- couldn’t help but think: If I had been riding now.’’ ber of actors responsible for violence in a Humvee, I wouldn’t be here right now. USA TODAY could not determine what Iraq’s self-sustaining sectarian con- Saenz knew why he was alive. His platoon role, if any, Rumsfeld played in MRAP delib- flict. in the 6th Marine Regiment Combat Team erations. A spokesman for Rumsfeld, now While our attention has been di- had replaced its Humvees with MRAPs. The running a foundation in Washington, said verted and our resources squandered in two blasts produced just one injury, a Ma- last week that the former Defense secretary Iraq, al-Quaida has protected its safe rine whose concussion put him on light duty would not comment. Aaron Kincaid’s widow, Rachel, doesn’t haven in Pakistan and has increased for a week. cooperation with regional terrorist ‘‘We’re probably in the safest vehicle ever know who should be held accountable. She is designed for military use,’’ Saenz says, re- haunted by whether getting MRAPs to Iraq groups. The sooner we redeploy from calling his platoon’s record: Three months. earlier might have saved her husband’s life. Iraq, the sooner we can refocus our ef- Eleven bomb attacks. No one dead. The bomb that blew apart his Humvee lay forts and develop a wide-ranging, inclu- MRAPs have become legendary in Anbar along the path he and his unit took, and no sive strategy that would deny al-Qaida since Marines began using them on dan- one noticed. these advantages. gerous missions clearing roadside bombs. Today, she wonders: Was his death really I remind my colleagues that last No- Tank commanders, radio operators and oth- about the path that he took, or about the path the Pentagon spent years avoiding, the vember, our constituents spoke out ers drop by Saenz’s platoon every day to do against this war in every way they pos- what Rep. Hunter had done three years ear- path that, in May, finally led them to the ve- lier—inspect the small fleet of MRAPs, hicle that might have saved her husband’s sibly could. And as the situation con- knock on the armor, sometimes crawl inside. life? tinues to deteriorate, they have re- Scores of MRAPs are scheduled to arrive in You think there is always something that peated their call—they were outside Anbar this summer. That means they’ll be could’ve been done to prevent it,’’ Rachel this building last night holding a can- available for the first time to the Marines Kincaid says of her husband’s death. dlelight vigil, and in States around the ‘‘If that’s been around for that many for tasks other than clearing IEDs, says Ma- Nation, to show their support for end- rine Col. Mike Rudolph, logistics officer for years,’’ she says of the MRAP, ‘‘why hasn’t it been used? They should’ve done it at the ing this war and to tell President Bush U.S. forces in western Iraq. No one has de- and Senate Republicans to ‘‘stop ob- cided how MRAPs will be used, but ‘‘every- beginning of the war. They should’ve done it body wants one,’’ Rudolph says. three years ago, four years ago.’’ structing an end to the war.’’ I know To be sure, the vehicle isn’t perfect. f my colleagues heard their voices last November, and I am hopeful they heard Saenz’s team warns that MRAPs drive like IRAQ trucks, plodding and heavy. Some models are them last night. It almost goes without so bulky they have blind spots for troops Ms. FEINGOLD. Madam President, as saying that they hear them every time peering over the boxy hood and so noisy a I said late last week, it has been 52 they return home as well. driver has to shout at someone 2 feet away. months since military operations But, just like last week and the week ‘‘They’re just so heavy,’’ Sgt. Randall Mil- began in Iraq. Approximately 3,613 before that, at the other end of Penn- ler says. ‘‘These are virtually designed off a Americans have died and 25,000 have semi-truck platform.’’ sylvania Avenue, these pervasive calls After substantial testing, the military also been wounded. More than 4 million are ignored as the President continues has concluded that MRAPs are vulnerable to Iraqis have fled their homes, and tens to make it clear that nothing not the explosively formed projectiles, the newest of thousands, at a minimum, have been voices of his citizens, not the advice of and most devastating variation of the IED. killed. We have now been engaged in military and foreign policy experts, not More armor has been developed for the the war in Iraq longer than we were in the concerns of members from his own MRAPs the Pentagon ordered this spring. World War II. party—will discourage him from pur- Miller isn’t complaining. On his first tour With the surge well underway, vio- suing an indefinite and misguided war. in Iraq in 2004–05, Miller searched for land lence in Iraq has reached unprece- We can’t put all the blame on the mines in a Humvee. His detection technique was simple: ‘‘Go real slow, cross your fin- dented levels and American troop fa- White House, however. An over- gers.’’ He still drives slowly but feels safer talities are up 70 percent. From all an- whelming majority of Congress author- knowing the MRAP’s V-shaped hull will de- gles, the situation in Iraq is an abso- ized this misguided war, and now a far flect a bomb blast. ‘‘I’ve seen our guys get lute disaster, and the administration’s smaller but still determined minority

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