Army meets tough procurement challenge head-on.

• Author: Farrell, Lawrence P., Jr.
• Position: PRESIDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

The Army's ability to supply soldiers with armored vehicles has been the source of much debate. Key questions have emerged from this discussion, such as whether the military services were prepared to deal with escalating violence against U.S. troops in Iraq and whether the industry is capable of surging quickly enough to respond to growing equipment demands.

Shortages of armored vehicles, particularly, commanded considerable attention because they highlighted the challenges of predicting equipment requirements and ensuring the readiness of the industrial base.

The response to the steep increase in demand for armored vehicles in fact has been a remarkable success story. Once it became clear that U.S. soldiers and Marines needed thousands more armored vehicles than were available in the inventory, the Army's ramp-up was impressive.

In short, the Army has been able to deliver, only in about 18 months, more than 8,400 up-armored Humvees, and is about to meet the full requirement, which currently stands at 10,079.

More than 12,800 armor applique kits, which are installed on several types of trucks to protect windshields and doors, also have been shipped to Iraq. This puts the Army close to meeting the required number of 13,872.

It is worth noting that in the early phase of the Iraq conflict, the original requirement was only for 350 up-armored Humvees. In the fall of 2003, U.S. Central Command requested 1,000 vehicles. The proliferation of improvised roadside explosives and suicide bombers in Iraq rapidly drove up requirements. Facing a daily average of 20 to 30 suicide bombs and roadside explosives, commanders decided to not allow soldiers to leave their bases unless they were in armored vehicles.

The Army's prime contractor for Humvee armor, Armor Holdings Inc., expanded its production capacity by orders of magnitude to reach its current level of 500 trucks per month. Just five years ago, the company was only armoring 35 to 40 trucks per month.

The Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command--and its network of industrial depots--led efforts to design and produce add-on armor kits. TACOM partnered with four private companies (International Steel Group, Clifton Steel, U.S. Secure Glass and Protective Armored Systems) for the delivery of steel and ballistic glass. A total of 105 companies, coupled with 19 military installations in 25 states and three countries, participated in providing services, parts and raw materials to support the Humvee...