This post is from a friend of mine that still is in Afghanistan...fighting the good fight. I have edited the content as I have seen fit....
Hey Buddy,
Well first and foremost how are you and the family doing? I'm hoping all are safe and happy.
Well let us start on this list of critical faults; the most important so far that I've seen is:
......by far the fact that this is NOT a true XXXX being as it is bolted together and has a flat bottom covered by a belly armor system that will not hold up to the ordinance being utilized in this war against our warfighters.
......there are already serious cracks being found throughout this vehicle ( see issue awareness reports from theater), and it hasn't even seen combat as of yet.
......the roof structure has serious integrity issues and egress problems brought about by the placement of antenna brackets and that thin cover metal just above the doors that can be detrimental to opening the doors in the case of roll overs which we have seen already.
......there is no protection at all for the power plant it; is surrounded by fiberglass and plastic, which makes it susceptible to small arms fire to say the least.
......it has a frame and we as of yet haven't received any frame parts for repairing the XXXXXX's; how are they going to get these parts here to repair these when they can't get parts in theater to fix BD trucks that are already in need of the same parts????
......someone has failed to really think out the egress issues with these vehicles; if you take a hit to either side and are forced to egress a crew member from above ( gunners hatch) you'll have serious issues if it's possible at all???
......this external FSS system has to be redone, there couldn't have been alot of thought given to a system that utilizes 6mm hose to hold a nitrogen charge and has so far proven to leak at least 30% of the time in these vehicles.
......these vehicles are equiped with gunners hatches and not RWS systems....WHY?????? we have so much money in America that we can pay corporate thieves bonuses but, we still ask soldiers to risk their lives hanging outside an armored vehicle in a war zone prevelant to snipers and RPGs?????
What are we doing about the recovery issue here in theater? Let's not be side tracked with these new vehicles and forget about the couple of thousand real XXXX's that need to be recovered throughout theater and the safety of those soldiers tasked with bringing them to FOBs and RSAs for repairs.
This is just a starting point of many that are to come...I'm sure of this and this makes me very angry. This vehicle could not have possibly passed any blast test certifying it's safety to the war fighter...no way...if it did, I'd sure like to see it. This vehicle is going to be just a step above the safety factor of the XXXXX, which in this war is not good. Get me some more XXXXXXs and XXXXs and if possible XXXX/4x4s and we will keep Soldiers and Marines alive. If they pursue this path utilizing this XXXX, they are wrong !!!! We as a program are smarter than this. We have a responsibility to our warfighters to give them the BEST EQUIPMENT we can...this isn't IT.
Please stress this with your superiors and vendors. We will not settle for " this is good enough" and I for one will not let this get pushed under the carpet. They need to listen. I will hold them all accountable for every life lost as a result of this profit motivated business we call supporting our military.
If they won't listen, just tell them to order lots of writing paper and pens because they're going to be writing a lot of parents letters explaining how and why their sons and daughters were killed and that it could have been avoided if not for the bottom line and profits.......we as a nation have a responsibility to those whom we ask to sacrifice in these wars; let them not die for the net gain of the few and the silence of the rest. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!!!...and have pity for those who rise against US...because I WON'T !!!!
Respectfully,
AN AMERICAN PATRIOT
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