USMC to replace half its AAV's with MPC's?

I am not understanding the Marine Corps leadership's thinking on vehicle procurement.  Read the whole thing but check this out.

Officials at the conference also assured contractors that the Corps intends to move forward with the procurement of a new amphibious personnel carrier to replace the recently terminated Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Keith Moore, program manager for Marine Corps advanced amphibious assault, said the new ACV (amphibious combat vehicle) is key to moving Marines from ship to shore. It will need to carry 17 Marines plus a crew of three. The 70,000-pound vehicle should have a range of at least 200 miles. Cost estimates are still too high, said Moore. The currently projected unit cost of $10 million to $12 million “isn’t going to fly,” he said.

The ACV design should congeal within the next calendar year, he said. In the meantime, the Corps plans to upgrade about 400 of its current amphibious assault vehicles so they can remain in service for at least another decade.

Also on the wish list is a new armored personnel carrier. Officials said that, most likely, the Marine Corps will buy an existing vehicle rather than design a new one. It will have to be large enough to transport nine Marines and a crew of three, with a 300-mile range at a unit cost of around $4 million. Plans are to eventually purchase 579 MPCs.

Don't get me wrong.  The MPC as a concept is awesome.

What I'm not getting is the planning here.

We're going to concurrently upgrade the AAV while purchasing the MPC while developing the ACV.  We're doing all this during a time of budget cuts.

I'm not seeing the plan here.  The MPC was first mentioned because the EFV was suppose to be so expensive that we couldn't buy the planned number.  When the EFV went away the MPC requirement remained.

Like I said I like the concept of the vehicle but what is the thinking now?  Why are we still procuring that vehicle and at the same time upgrading half our AAV fleet?

My greatest fear is that the MPC will morph into an AAV replacement/or we'll see the AAV upgrade turn into the ACV because once again the Program Office is dazed and confused.

The Commandant talked about junior Marines embarassing the Corps.  He decried the lack of oversight by his Commanders.  Perhaps he needs to start closer at home.  Combining the AAV upgrade, ACV and MPC programs into one program office IS a mistake.

We need to fix that first then get some clarity on the plan of action for Marine Corps procurement.