Army, Marine Vehicles Fall Short: Readiness Crisis Blamed on Industry Challenges and Maintenance Cuts
A grim report reveals that none of the Army vehicles surveyed met mission availability standards in fiscal 2024, while the Marine Corps fared slightly better with three vehicles at or above an 80% mission capability rate. Despite reduced maintenance, both services spent over $2.5 billion in fiscal 2023 on depot maintenance of vehicles.
Industry challenges, including diminishing supplies, long lead times, lack of manufacturers, and strains on single-source suppliers, have exacerbated the issue. Key combat and support vehicles, such as the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Armored Personnel Carrier, and Abrams Tank, regularly fail to meet readiness standards. The Army's maintenance cuts have led to skilled worker loss, particularly affecting the Bradley program. Demands for maintenance continue, with depots coping with unexpected repairs and increased industry demands for new vehicle components and existing system parts. Lack of available technical data has hindered the Army's in-house repairs on some vehicles, with technicians relying on outdated drawings or sending work back to manufacturers.
Over the last decade, both the Army and the Marines have seen vehicle readiness decline due to industry challenges, reduced overhauls, and lack of skilled technicians. From fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2024, both services significantly reduced vehicle overhauls, with the Army performing only 12 in fiscal 2024 compared to 1,278 in fiscal 2015.
The U.S. Department of Defense and its leadership are ultimately responsible for the decisions that led to reduced overhauls of combat and support vehicles in the U.S. Army and Marine Corps over recent decades, resulting in current maintenance problems due to inadequate investment in upkeep and infrastructure. The majority of ground combat vehicles used by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps are not ready for missions due to maintenance issues and spare parts shortages.
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