I interviewed the new commander of the Marine Special Purpose MAGTF in Afghanistan this morning and thought I’d fill folks in on some interesting gear news he made while we talked. And just for your information, I’m working on a more comprehensive story on his new command for Military.com to post either tomorrow or the next day.
But a few things first:
The new commander is Col. Duffy White. He’s the 3rd Marine Regiment Commander based in Hawaii and attached to his SPMAGTF is an aviation element consisting of helos from HMLA 269 and HMH 466 He’s also got some KC-130s that can help him out from VMGR-252.
You’ll remember we’ve spoken in the past with Lt. Col. Rick Hall, the commander of 2/7, who got a bit beat up out there with a large AO and little support.
This time, White’s equipped with the gear he needs to keep his troops safe and do a better job of pushing the mission. First of all, he’s got a bunch of MRAP vehicles that he can use for route clearance and other convoy needs. He’s also got EOD personnel and a ton of other heavy vehicles that come along with the logistics group that’s attached to his MAGTF.
“I also have some revised mine rollers that have a hydraulic down-pressure mechanism that enables the rollers to get down into the undulating terrain and into the former shot holes and things to get in there to the pressure plates,” White told me, noting the evolution from command-detonated IEDs to pressure plate triggers. “The unsung hero … is the MTVR. That thing is a freaking monster out here. And you know, when you strap a mine roller onto the front of an MTVR you’re doing good. So right now, for my force I have enough vehicles.”
But White mentioned the new MRAPs being developed for all-terrain use.
The SecDef “was saying that they were pushing some research toward developing MRAPs that would be more conducive to off-country mobility. So that would be something that I would say we need the most. … Being able to make your own roads when you need to, to go off road and be able to surprise some enemy is the key.”
White said drone surveillance is also important in his AO, which stretches across the southern hilt of Afghanistan into Helmand and Farah provinces. So he’s trying to tie imagery from his Scan Eagle drones directly to displays in his vehicle convoys.
“It doesn’t do me very much good to see the Scan Eagle feed in my CP. It would be a lot better if the convoy commander can see that on the convoy,” White said. “So we’re looking to retrofit and put that stuff together.”
I also asked him about the MV-22, which has yet to be deployed to Afghanistan…whether he had any in his aviation combat element, had any coming or thought he would need any for the mission. Here’s what he told me:
“With the Osprey … I think the fast forward flight mode of the Osprey — man, you could put forces on the battlefield where they need to be in a big hurry,” White said…But read carefully what he says next…
“I think the enemy has it templated out where … they know how long it takes for [fixed wing] air to check on station and start working. So, man, I think those Ospreys you could set some blocking forces behind some enemy and I think you could really be able to out maneuver them and gain the upper hand pretty quickly. So I would look forward to the opportunity to work with the Osprey…”
Keep looking for more on my exclusive interview with Col. White here and at Military.com.
– Christian
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
@Thaddeus Jankowski
Why do you care that much?
Do you now recant your MRAP opposition and admit any error in your anti-MRAP thinking?
Posted by: Thaddeus Jankowski at December 15, 2008 06:16 PM
i think mine and alot of ppls probblem with the mrap isnt that it doesnt work but that it only realy works where you have good roads good bridges and alot of room cause those things are huge…..
mrap is a good first generation design it does one thing very well thats it…..so no flexability
but yea future mrap type vehicles bring it
My comment is hats off to Col. White and his men, but most of all my hat is off to whomever made the decision to send them with all of this needed equipment. Most of all I would like to find the S.O.B. that sent the 2/7 over there with there hands tied by someone else controling the AO, with no Marine air or Artillery support. Go get em 3/8 our prayers are with you.
Thaddeus Jankowski,
No…Notice he’s using the MRAPs for route clearance…not every day patrols…also, tell me what the difference is between the MRAP-ATV and the JLTV other than schedule? The MRAP-ATV addresses the problems I wrote about against the prevailing winds that pushed headlong to replace all up-armored Humvees with MRAPs. Nice try though…
So he has AFVs, mortars, thermal sights, helicopters and combat aircraft as support, artillery support – but to defeat some guys with 60′s infantry arms and pickups he needs additionally muli-million dollar tilt rotor gadgets?
Does he need that or not?
If yes – make him a civilian ASAP.
This “throw resources at a problem” attitude is exactly what’s wrong with the American way of war.
One comment stands out to me; the comment about “off-country mobility”. I don’t know why some people perpetuate the thinking that off-road capability is something that is needed, when strategy and tactics as applied shows that the capability is secondary. If we look at the 1990 Gulf War and OIF, roads were the primary mode of transportation. In the 1990 Gulf War, the generals were forced kicking and screaming by Boyd acolytes to operate off-road (i.e. the left hook). In OIF, the army rode into Bagdahd on a road.
Lines of communications are constantly taught in the military to be a very important factor in warfare. Lines of communications include roads. I haven’t seen the military stray from this principle. So why emphasize off-road capability when the military doesn’t practice it in real world situations?
@Thomas;
off-road capability is important even if not used.
It adds route choices and decreases predictability.
An opponent can often easily delay/defend along a road, but not so easily along a wide front.
Look at the Japanese tactics in the 1941/42 Malaya campaign to see the relevance – or look at some photos of Russian mud & German trucks in 41-44.
Personally, I think that the V-22 Osprey is one of the best decisions the USMil is making, it is able to get in a lot faster than its predecessors and take off a lot faster than even the STOL fixed-wings, avoid the IED threat plaguing ground vehicles, and can get out of there ‘like a bat out of hell’, according to one Marine, all of which contributing to more lives saved.
Sven Ortmann aka jackass
You are not versed on all of the details of what was going on operationally to need these ospreys.
It has now been proven they were essential to recent operations. However to say something as stupid as “So he has AFVs, mortars, thermal sights, helicopters and combat aircraft as support, artillery support – but to defeat some guys with 60′s infantry arms and pickups he needs additionally muli-million dollar tilt rotor gadgets?” establishes you have never particiapted in a combat operation.
I am sure you are not a great warrior like duffy white…you may want to read his bio…