Navy facility blamed in MRAP production delay

[GreatAmerican]

<p>[Navy</a> facility blamed in MRAP production delay - Navy News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Navy Times](<a href=“http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_mrap_071109/]Navy”>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/11/ap_mrap_071109/)</p>

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The Pentagon’s $23 billion program to rush thousands of lifesaving vehicles to Iraq is bogged down by production delays and the demands of the military services, members of Congress said Thursday.</p>

<p>At a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee, lawmakers said a Navy warfare center in Charleston, S.C., being used to install the radio jammers and communications systems on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, is not organized to do the work…

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[GreatAmerican]

<p>[MRAP</a> Production Ahead of Schedule](<a href=“Military Daily News”>Military Daily News)</p>

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Production of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles continues ahead of schedule, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Nov. 14. </p>

<p>“For the month of October, we had hoped to produce 431 vehicles,” Morrell said during a news conference. “We have produced 452. That’s 21 more than we had anticipated, which puts us overall, year-to-date, program-to-date, 34 ahead of schedule.” </p>

<p>The vehicles are state-of-the-art defenses against the leading killers of American troops in Iraq – improvised explosive devices and explosively formed penetrators. The V-shaped armored hull deflects explosive blasts from mines, IEDs and EFPs away from the crew compartment…

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[GreatAmerican]

<p>Whether vehicles will be useful in the future is unclear</p>

<p>[Some</a> question need for MRAP buildup - Military News, Marine Corps News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Marine Corps Times](<a href=“http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/11/marine_mrapfuture_071127/]Some”>http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2007/11/marine_mrapfuture_071127/)</p>

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Grunts on the ground in Iraq can expect to see more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles in Iraq in the coming weeks, but questions loom large as to how the Corps will use the high-priced, heavily armored vehicles once the Marines come home.</p>

<p>The Corps is sending another 200 of the blast-proof vehicles to Iraq by year’s end, service officials say. The shipment will bring the number of Marine MRAPs in Iraq to about 650, said 1st. Lt. Geraldine Carey, spokeswoman for Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va…

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