A yellow bird landed on my window and passed along a bit of depressing information.
According to my source the Amphibious Combat Vehicle program is floundering.
What exactly is the problem? I have no idea..but consider this. Do you remember all the wild gyrations that we witnessed in the last two years? First the Marine Personnel Carrier program was canceled outright. Then it was resurrected. Then we saw HQMC rename the program and break it into two parts. First the ACV 1.1 was basically the Marine Personnel Carrier with new wrapping and second we had the ACV 1.2 that was supposed to be the old EFV but this time it would work and be affordable. Also remember the late interviews given by Amos as he was heading out the door. I can't remember the source but I distinctly recall him suddenly claiming that funding was just not there.
This points to the procurement train wreck being even more devastating than even I imagined. I spent yesterday afternoon trying to get in contact with the Program Office but they've been moved behind a fire wall, are no longer even listed on the PEO Land website and the e-mail address that I had to Manny Pacheco is no longer working (I don't even know if he's still the spokesman for the program).
The reality is stark.
Can we with good conscious continue to send Marines into combat in almost 50 year old AAVs? If not then how do we fix this?
