Air Force Reaches 10,000 MRAPs Milestone

>Since April 2007, the Pentagon has deployed 10,000 MRAP vehicles to South-West Asia, and deliveries. The 10,000th vehicle, a Cougar, is seen being unloaded from a C-5 Galaxy. (US DoD photo)SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --- U.S. Transportation Command and its supply chain partners achieved a major milestone today as the number of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles delivered to U.S. Central Command reached 10,000.>> The milestone was reached this morning in Southwest Asia when the first MRAP vehicle rolled off an Air Mobility Command C-5 aircraft assigned to Travis Air Force Base, Calif. The C-5 carried four smaller MRAP vehicles, known as Cougars.>> Shawn Vosburg, a transportation analyst with the commands Directorate of Operations and Plans, said the command has leveraged both air and sea transportation since April 2007 to get the lifesaving vehicles into the hands of warfighters.>> Until November, MRAPs were delivered by large Air Force and commercial cargo aircraft, including the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster III and a commercial AN-124 Condor. November marked the beginning of MRAP sealift, which greatly increased the number of vehicles in the Central Command area of operations. One cargo ship can carry up to 200 times the weight of a C-17 Globemaster III, at a cost of about 10 times less.>> The Army's Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command and the Navy's Military Sealift Command both served as vital partners in the undertaking.>> On Dec. 31, Transportation Command made good on a promise of Defense Secretary Robert Gates to have 1,500 MRAPs in theater by the end of 2007. On April 5, the command reached another major milestone of 5,000 MRAP vehicles delivered to Central Command.