Mraps in to Brigade Combat Team

As the Army moves toward stability and support operations in Iraq, so does the insurgents’ use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). This causes the Army to change how it transportes its soldiers in the area of operations compared to past engagements. A way the Army is changing is incorporating MRAPs in to Brigade Combat Team (BCT).
I will touch on the impact of incorporating the MRAPs into the BCTs and how it could impact the Army as a whole. Over the past few years, IEDs have proven to be the most lethal and challenging threat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The MRAP has multiple variations and continues to save many lives by providing essential mobile protections for soldiers and personnel operating on the ground. As the Department of Defense spends heavily in research and developing counter measures for the continuously evolving IED threat, the MRAP is here to stay in Army formations for the future. “The Army will incorporate packaged sets of MRAPs into BCTs and other formations as part of the ARFORGEN cycle”, according to Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates in his February 2010 report to Congress.(1)
Currently, of the 15,000 Army MRAPs, according to a June 2010 Army briefing, about 5,750 will be assigned to infantry brigade combat teams, 1,700 to heavy brigade combat teams, and about 165 to Stryker brigades. Also support units such as sustainment brigades, medical, route clearing and explosive ordnance units will be assigned about 5,350 vehicles. About 1,000 MRAPs will be used for home station and major training centers and approximately 1,000 MRPs will be assigned to war reserve stocks. (2)   The importance of these numbers will be seen at the unit levels. As units return from deployments and begin rest and retraining, they will have access to MRAPs for qualification in preparation for future deployments. These new equipment will help training and familiarization to be incorporated into new training programs and branch specific courses for both officers and...