Issue Date: September 27, 2004

Running out of Humvees

Despite congressional plus-ups the last several years, the Army National Guard is still short 10,000 Humvees.

Primarily, the Guard needs the vehicles to replace its fleet of General Motors-manufactured Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicles. The military is not equipped to support the commercial vehicles in combat with spare parts and repairs, making them virtually impossible to deploy, said Edward Butkera, business development manager at Humvee-maker AM General.

The company has been working with the National Guard Bureau and National Guard Association of the United States to lobby Capitol Hill for more funds for the M1097 utility vehicle.

But if funds allow, the Guard could potentially buy the M1152 vehicle, a more powerful Humvee to which armor can be added. The M1152 costs an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 more per vehicle than the M1097, Butkera said during the 126th National Guard Association of the United States convention in Las Vegas.

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-ARMYPAPER-356434.php

I wonder what happened to the COMBATT program?  It was supposed to be a commerical truck modified for military use (Commercially Based Tactical Truck).  Both the F350 SuperDuty and the Dodge Ram Quad Cab 2500 were in the running?

I like the HMMWV, but it's expensive and unnecessary for the majority of daily military needs.  It's become more of a weapons carrier/troop carrier than a GP truck like the CUCV.