'A Vehicle That Does It All'

Sea Power, Jul 2005 by Lackey, Sue A

As the Iraq War exposes inadequacies, Marine Corps officials ponder the service's future tactical wheeled vehicle needs

Exit the HUMVEE?

Marine Corps officials are convinced the HUMVEE's usefulness as the warfighter's primary vehicle is coming to an end.

* Problems encountered battling the Iraqi insurgency are prompting the Corps to re-examine its tactical vehicle program.

* Commitment to the Sea Basing concept is another motivating factor.

The Marine Corps is redefining its entire tactical vehicle program in response to problems experienced in Iraq with current vehicles and the need to plan for emerging operational concepts. Several Marine officials told Seapower the Corps will need a new series of tactical vehicles to address its future needs.

The Marine Corps Combat Development Command at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., is conducting studies on the future of tactical wheeled vehicles, armoring and ground mobility that is due to be completed by late summer. The studies will attempt to define warfighter needs and integrate them with, among other things, sea basing and distributed operations, a concept of maneuver warfare based on small unit tactics and the net-centric battlespace.

Col. Mark Gurganus, commander of Regional Combat Team-8 in Fallujah, Iraq, said, "The days of thin-skinned vehicles are probably over. A lot of people have been watching what's happening here and realized the rules have changed. We've got to be able to go back and build a vehicle that does it all."

In Iraq, the Corps fielded the HUMVEE, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles that replaced the Army jeep and several other tactical vehicles beginning in 1985. The original unarmored HUMVEEs provided little protection from light arms fire and, especially, from the improvised explosive devices that are left along the roads of Iraq and often are the insurgents' weapon of choice.

Later versions, such as the up-armored M1114 HUMVEE, provide limited protection against some types of armor-piercing projectiles and antitank mines. Marines say the Marine armor kit (MAK), designed to provide additional protection for unarmored HUMVEE models has been particularly effective.

The added weight of that armor on what is essentially a light tactical vehicle, and the attendant stresses on the vehicle structure, have convinced Marine officials the HUMVEE is at the end of is usefulness as the warfighter's primary vehicle.

In addition, the Corps is committed to the Sea Basing concept, which envisions that U.S. forces sent to world trouble spots would operate their supply depots, staging areas and operational headquarters at sea, rather than on land.

Lt. Col. Thomas Doran, program management operations officer for the Motor Transport, Ground Transportation and Engineer Systems at Marine Corps Systems Command, said, "A lot of things we have right now in our medium and heavy fleet don't really fit into the concept of sea basing, and neither does vehicle armoring.

"A vehicle that does a HUMVEE-like mission carries eight men or 2.5 tons of cargo. You now have a vehicle that meets the ballistic and blast protection requirements, but that HUMVEE that normally weighs 10,000 pounds now weighs 50,000."

Therefore, it cannot be deployed forward by air, and a landing craft can carry only one, rather than six.

The Corps' 3,100 HUMVEES in Iraq include 500 fully armored M1114 and M1116 versions that protect against some armor-piercing projectiles and antitank mines. HUMVEEs with the MAK, first fielded early this year, have reinforced doors with ballistic glass, flank and undercarriage protection.

However, "from a maintenance perspective, the M1114 has some trend areas that need to be worked on. Their transmissions fail at a cyclic rate and air conditioner compressors need to be worked on," said Master Gunnery Sgt. Pamela Smith, motor transport maintenance chief for II MEF Forward, now on her fourth tour in Iraq.

"The problem is the Marine Corps is an amphibious service. You will never convince me you can ford with this turbo charger [on the M1114/M1116]. That's one of the predominant reasons the Marine Corps didn't buy into the program before the war," she said. "The vehicle was demonstrated to ford in 40 inches of water, but the engine was cool at the time. ... At operating temperature, splashed with water, the turbo charger would probably cause some damage; it would fissure at best."

Today, the HUMVEE program is a joint effort managed by the Army. But at the time the M1114 was developed, it was an Army-only vehicle. It was never designed to fulfill the multipurpose mission the Corps is requiring it to do.

"The 1114 is an armored car - that's all it does," said Craig MacNab, spokesman for HUMVEE maker AM General. "The Marine Corps has worried about the turbo charger, and it has not been tested extensively for fording issues."

MacNab said the additional maintenance problems are attributed to the stresses placed on the vehicles by missions for which it was never designed.

"The M1114 cannot be the light-class armored vehicle for the future, just because the HUMVEE is now at the high end of its capabilities. We've made it do the most it can," Doran said.