Stronger Humvee Not Enough, General Says

A senior general has told the U.S. Army leadership that a fortified version of the Humvee on which troops heavily rely in Iraq is not sufficiently protecting them. But the Army said Tuesday that it was satisfied with the “up-armored” vehicle.

Gen. Larry R. Ellis wrote in a memo to Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker that U.S. commanders in the field believed the modified Humvee was “not providing the solution the Army hopes to achieve” to protect troops from attacks.

Ellis, head of Army Forces Command, recommended doubling the current order for the Stryker, the Army’s new armored vehicle being used by U.S. forces in parts of northern Iraq.

Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a briefing that the Pentagon might dispatch more heavy armor to Iraq, saying some units had left behind some of their tanks when deploying because the military didn’t think they would be needed.

But Myers said he had not heard complaints about the reinforced Humvee from commanders in Iraq, and he said the vehicles had helped reduce troop injuries.

Even the heaviest tank can be damaged if an attack is strong enough, Myers said. “So the thought that you can ever have enough armor to protect you 100% is not the right notion,” he said.

“Your tactics, techniques and procedures are probably the bulk of what’s going to protect you,” Myers said.

Lt. Col. Diane Battaglia, an Army spokeswoman at the Pentagon, said the service was “satisfied that the Humvees are performing in accordance with the contractual standards that they set forth.”

U.S. troops complained that the standard High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, was vulnerable to attack. Some units attached scrap metal to the sides of the vehicles to strengthen them while waiting for the Pentagon to send more of the “up-armored” versions, which have additional steel reinforcement.

The military wants to have 4,400 reinforced Humvees in Iraq by September.