The misguided howl’er over the Growler
The Marine Corps’ new Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV), manufactured by American Growler has been the target of recent howls from media critics primarily due to its roughly $100,000 per unit price tag. While the Fourth Estate and Congress should always be on the look out for the proverbial $400 toilet seat, the ITV program is hardly deserving of such criticism.
Even though the ITV bears a resemblance to military Jeeps from years past, the comparison is only skin deep. Under the hood, its modern, powerful engine and drive-train, improved suspension, and a heavy-duty electrical system make the ITV as far removed from a Jeep, as a Porsche is from an original Volkswagen “Beetle”. Add to this foundation, such unique capabilities as blast-protection seats and underbody, joystick-controlled four-wheel steering, central tire inflation, and a cargo capacity more than three times greater than a Jeep and the cost starts to look like more of a bargain than an example of excess.
Uniquely Capable
The unique packaging of all these features and capabilities into the ITV makes for a vehicle that duplicates — and in some cases actually exceeds — virtually every performance characteristic of the military HMMWV (“Humvee”). It also adds a few others, in a scaled-down configuration. A helpful analogy might be to call the ITV the “ruggedized laptop” version of the Humvee desktop PC.
The size and weight of the ITV was intentionally limited so that it fits inside the cargo area of the Corps’ new V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. By sizing this vehicle for internal carriage, the full tactical and operational benefits of the Osprey’s speed — approximately 270 knots in its conventional aircraft mode — can be exploited, instead of having to externally sling-load the larger and heavier HMMWV at a much reduced range and speed.
The ITV is also an important component of the Expeditionary Fire Support System, which allows a mobile mortar system to provide long-range indirect fire support to infantry forces as part of the Marine Corps’ “Ship to Objective Maneuver” doctrine. This warfighting doctrine advocates the advances in mobility and range be used to bypass the typical “storming of the beach” and instead deliver forces directly to the objective area.
In order for the Marine Corps to remain the Nation’s preeminent expeditionary force, it needs to be versatile, fast-moving, and hard-hitting so it can avoid large, set-piece battles through prompt and vigorous action during the conflict?s incipient stages. The EFSS and the ITV are custom-made for this purpose.
The Bottom Line
Congress continues regularly to remind our nation’s military leaders of their obligation to provide “the best” for military troops in harm’s way. Fortunately, this is not likely to change over a few misguided articles. Denying or delaying future Marine combat forces the striking speed, mobility and long-range fire support the EFSS/ITV combination provides would, however, be truly something to howl about.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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