About 75% of casualties in current combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan are attributed to improved explosive devices. To mitigate the threat from these weapons, the DoD initiated the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program, which uses a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field the vehicles. MRAP is DoD¿s single most important acquisition program. To date, more than $22 billion has been appropriated to acquire more than 15,000 MRAP vehicles, and about 6,600 of the vehicles have been fielded. This report: (1) describes DoD¿s approach for and progress in implementing its strategy for rapidly acquiring and fielding MRAP vehicles; and (2) identifies the challenges remaining for the program. Illustrations.

The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is the newest land warfare system in the United States Army and Marine Corps inventory. Designed to meet the challenges of operating in a counterinsurgency environment, the MRAP has taken survivability to a new level. MRAPs are currently manufactured by three companies: BAE Systems, Navistar International Military Group, and Force Protection Inc. Each company manufactures an MRAP according to one of three classifications set by the US Department of Defense: Category I, Category II, or Category III. The Category I MRAPs are designed for urban combat. Category II covers the MRAPs designed for convoy security, medical evacuation, and explosive ordnance disposal. The Category III MRAP performs the same function as Category II but is designed to carry more personnel. Since their introduction in 2007, MRAPs have performed remarkably in the asymmetric warfare environment. Their unique design and survivability characteristics have saved the lives hundreds of soldiers who otherwise would have been lost to landmines or IED attacks. As with any combat system, however, the MRAP is not without its drawbacks.

This Truck Saved My Life Lessons Learned from the MRAP Vehicle Program The subject of this book, the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicle Program, was unique in many ways. "MRAP" meant a vehicle that could survive in the face of the mines, roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ambushes the enemy mounted throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. The program moved with lightning speed-one member of the team described it as "MRAP Speed"-not seen in large defense programs since World War II. It produced a flood of vehicles on such a scale that it was the largest single defense acquisition program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-an amazing fact given that the program did not even exist in FY 2006. This book is written to answer these questions by providing a history of the program. To deal with the fundamental questions, that history has to be told in thematic terms. So much happened in parallel that a chronology would be misleading. It would fail to convey the special character and achievements of the MRAP program.

The Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle is the newest land warfare system in the United States Army and Marine Corps inventory. Designed to meet the challenges of operating in a counterinsurgency environment, the MRAP has taken survivability to a new level. MRAPs are currently manufactured by three companies: BAE Systems, Navistar International Military Group, and Force Protection Inc. Each company manufactures an MRAP according to one of three classifications set by the US Department of Defense: Category I, Category II, or Category III. The Category I MRAPs are designed for urban combat. Category II covers the MRAPs designed for convoy security, medical evacuation, and explosive ordnance disposal. The Category III MRAP performs the same function as Category II but is designed to carry more personnel. Since their introduction in 2007, MRAPs have performed remarkably in the asymmetric warfare environment. Their unique design and survivability characteristics have saved the lives hundreds of soldiers who otherwise would have been lost to landmines or IED attacks. As with any combat system, however, the MRAP is not without its drawbacks.

Dwight D. Eisenhower once quipped, "You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics." Military acquisition and procurement--that is, how a nation manages investments, technologies, programs, and support--is critical to wartime success or failure. When unexpected battlefield problems arise, how do the government, the military, and industry work together to ensure effective solutions? During the American counterinsurgent campaign in Iraq, the improvised explosive device emerged as a disruptive and devastating threat. As Humvees, and their occupants, were ripped apart by IEDs, it was clear that new solutions had to be found. These solutions already existed but had not been procured, highlighting the need for more effective marketing to the military by industry. The ultimate successful response--the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, or MRAP--required years of entrepreneurial marketing by the defense industry. In Securing the MRAP: Lessons Learned in Marketing and Military Procurement, James Hasik explores how these vehicles, which the American military mostly rejected despite the great need for them, eventually came to be adopted as the Pentagon's top procurement priority. Hasik traces the story of the MRAP from the early 1970s to the future of mine-resistant vehicles on the battlefields of tomorrow. An important contribution to the seemingly disparate fields of marketing and defense policy, Securing the MRAP is an eye-opening revelation to defense industrialists, military officers, and government officials who want to understand how to avoid another IED-Humvee debacle.