Was just asking what it is going to be used for (and I acknowlege a bullet proof vehicle has it's uses in certain situations - situations that are not often found in Wylie however)  But it is NOT free.  My tax dollars paid for that thing and they will continue to pay for the repairs.  Also I understand MRAP's average about 5mpg depending on the vehicle and conversion costs (paint, closed turret, lightbar, etc. run around $70,000).  Taxpayers are paying these costs.  Someone stated on this thread that they aren't just given out to anyone that requests one - that it's done geographically and the surrounding agencies share the use - which would make sense.  

I ask you as a resident of this same county (Collin) and in a much larger city (Plano)...why would they not go to the much larger city and shared by surrounding ones?  

Earl

DoctorNo, I did not state that police do not need light armor.  I ask is the county or state can more efficiently coordinate use of light armored vehicles?

"Police departments"

"Coordinate"

Sorry, just cannot put those words into the same sentence

So, we went to Racetrac for frozen yogurt and I ran into a Wylie police officer.  We are heading for the same door and I was about to ask him if he was on break from mounting machine guns to his new tank when he rushed the door to open it for me and my family.   Thank you officer if you are reading this.  We can only trust the officers to do the right thing in the end with the MRAP.  Hopefully they understand this and it turns out to be a non issue.

How many of those raids are drug related?

I don't know where you came up with that number.

Our lightbar came off an old squad that was being auctioned. (Recycled = free)

Our maintenance guys installed it and put the light box in.

Decals on the side did cost a few bucks. Done at the same place that does all the graphics on all our other cars.

the turret has a hatch ... they all do. It comes with the truck.

I'd bet all together we spent $1000 to "customize" ours. Most of the time we spent was pulling out half the junk on the interior to make room and to make it more useful.

Most likely Wylie was one of the few cities that volunteered to step up and take care of the vehicle. Not all departments want to deal with the DOD hassle that comes with all the paperwork and BS involved in being involved in the program. Just a guess.

Yeah...don't be a dick. He may see the vehicle to be just as useful as you do.

Sure.

First, get a list of departments enrolled in the DOD surplus equipment program.

Now get a list of departments interested in acquiring a vehicle.

Make them fill out numerous forms laying out their responsibilities in care/maintenance/shared assets/mutual aid agreements.

Take the list of those who have completed all the paperwork in the required time frame.

Rank them according to serviced area, geographic importance, and proximity to other already delegated assets.

Issue vehicle.


That's how it's done now, do you have a better idea? It seems pretty reasonable to me.

I'd say 50%. The other 25% of search warrants are investigative driven (burglars, thieves, gang operations) and the other 25% of our calls are emergencies. We have a threat assessment that all planned operations must complete which take into consideration the suspects criminal history, known weapons, prior cases, etc. We are not activated until a certain threshold is met.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP

2nd to last paragraph.

And my point is .... don't believe everything you read. Not everything on wikipedia is gospel......

you are correct, your and my tax dollars paid for the FED to buy this truck. Now the truck has one of two options, 1 be sold for de-milled scrap at a fraction of its own cost, or 2 be donated to a local .gov as a usefull asset for years to come.
as far as cost to outfit, wylie like any other . gov with a fleet, has an entire crew of mechanics  that are already being paid to work on everything from dump trucks to police motorcycles an bullet proof truck wouldnt be out of their scope of knowledge. they have light bars laying around their service center and plenty decals to boot. it will not cost the city of wylie taxpayers as much as you think, and doesnt cost the city of plano taxpayers a dime.
moving along, the city of plano iirc has their own apc. mckinney has their own apc. they would not quallify for the program and this bullet proof truck would be usefull not just to wylie but also to unincorporated collin county, murphy, st. paul, sachse, lavon, nevada, josephine, royse city, and more than likely farmersville.
so the sleepy little town of wylie (pop 50,000 and growing) would have a very usefull asset that a lot more people will benafit from than you realise.
5mpg is a non issue untill they start running patrol with it. how many mpg does a ladder truck get, and they will dispatch that to a freaking fender bender lol

i guess im still having trouble with the parts in red, are you saying you pay Plano and Wylie taxes?  if you are i would throw a smooth fit over at the collin central appraisal district office

I live next door in Sachse, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies....
We have a few SWAT trained officers on our force and we see our share of crazy out here.  As for the generalization that we're out in the sticks, think again...  these areas are growing faster than most of the nation and with it comes the growing pains...  gang incursions, the thriving meth industry, home invasions, etc.
Sure, it's no war zone, but I know some of these officers and I hear more about what they've been facing last few years...  things are changing.  Just last night some knucklehead went in loud (shots fired) to rob a business right off 78 at 9:30pm.  These are not barking dog calls anymore.  When the situation warrants, these guys deserve to have some cover without waiting for the cavalry to come all the way from Big D.  Sure, it's a big departure from what we're used to seeing, and some valid points have been raised about the trends, but I stand with Doc on this one, better to have it and not need it...  

Oh, and I know it might seem silly to worry about what it takes to protect water treatment facilities at first glance, but you "experts" should take a closer look at what gets stored there before passing judgment...  I live a few miles away and I know it's of concern for me... I'm, glad they're taking steps.

Anyway, my 2 cents
I call shotgun!
When they gonna train Sachse CERT to drive it?!?!?!  LOL

Care to expand?

Ask the Syrians...


http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303380004579520002391710302?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303380004579520002391710302.html



http://publicintelligence.net/ules-dhs-wastewater-treatment-facility-vulnerabilities-and-terrorist-indicators-reports/

How does an MRAP protect from terrorists poisioning the water supply?

No!  Jeeze obviously I pay Collin County taxes but not Wylie...and as for options - there are others.  Each time my brother's TNG Combat Engineer company has been deployed to the sandbox they have had to leave their equipment behind and come home shorthanded.  Why can't these MRAP's go to the guard?  

Also (since someone already said you can't believe what you read on Wikipedia)..anyways Wiki says these are in effect on loan.  That the DOD still owns them.  Is that true?

If so (and this requires one to believe that the federal authorities don't always act in the "we the people's" best interest) but do you think that all departments that take these vehicles on loan from Uncle Sam would under a national emergency or declared period of martial law refuse a demand from Homeland Security to afix something to said MRAPs to be used for crowd/riot control?  You can say no all you want and I have no doubt many police departments would (especially those in Texas) - but this could be a slippery slope indeed.

Earl

Cost is why the MRAPs, and most other equipment in AFG is not being shipped home.

Why the MRAPs here in US are not offered/taken to the Guard, I do not know. My guess is they do not want the cost of maintaining something they do not need, since there is little IED threat on US roads.

All property surplussed from the DOD is subject to be recalled at any time. Guns, uniforms, night vision, vehicles, body armor, etc.

It's also possible that the government could tell us to all jump on the sides of our MRAPS and go park them side by side at each border town and drive south to annex cities.

We can what if tin foil silliness all we want...

whew!! had me worried for a second. let me set your mind at ease. the city of wylie recieves no money from collin county to run city operations in regards to fleet and fleet maintenance. yes the mrap is on loan from the DOD but, so is almost every tank sitting in front of your local vfw, and almost every modern military aircraft in private museums, armor in museums, and a shitton of military weapons behind glass in museums, a lot of equipment is also on loan from the DOD to fire departments. it really is not an uncommon practice and has been done this way for the better part of the last century.

Terrorists are trying to weaponize zebra mussels. Both the North Koreans and Iranians are hard at work on the programs.

They are not trying to protect the treatment facilities or even the water sources, as almost all of those are located outside the city of Wylie. They are protecting the corporate offices.

Wylie is also home to the North Texas Municipal Water District that supplies water to more than 1.5 million people in 60 cities...a critical facility to protect.

The person who posted that in defense of buying a MRAP is dumber than a box of rocks.

i agree it is a weak argument, btw they arent bying the mrap

this exactly

double