Facing tighter budgets and a greater emphasis on fuel efficiency, the military vehicle industry has a challenging year ahead, according to industry panelists at last week's tactical wheeled vehicles conference in Monterey, CA.
Marjorie Censer was Inside Defense's editor until July 2021. She previously worked at the Washington Post and its local business publication Capital Business, covering defense industry reshaping, the increased scrutiny of contractors following the Edward Snowden case and the challenges of canceling military programs. From 2007 to 2010, she was managing editor of Inside the Army. She also previously worked as defense editor at POLITICO and as a staff writer at the Carroll County Times and the Princeton Packet. A Fairfax native, she graduated from Princeton University.
Facing tighter budgets and a greater emphasis on fuel efficiency, the military vehicle industry has a challenging year ahead, according to industry panelists at last week's tactical wheeled vehicles conference in Monterey, CA.
The Defense Department likely overpaid for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles because contract officials did not properly assess prices and failed to ask for a volume discount from one of the top truck manufacturers, according to a closely held report from the Pentagon inspector general.
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Following the release of the Pentagon Inspector General's report on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected acquisition effort, Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) has issued a statement criticizing the Marine Corps and the overall defense procurement system.
The Pentagon's inspector general has cleared Marine Corps Combat Development Command of criminal negligence for not responding to a 2005 request from Iraq for life-saving Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles by troops in Iraq, but the IG says the Quantico, VA-based command failed to redirect the urgent request for armored trucks to the Pentagon.
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