The U.S. Army’s All-But Forgotten Vehicle Fleet (From RealClearDefense)

The U.S. Army possesses many vehicles. There are fleets of main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, engineering support vehicles, mobile artillery, mine-protected vehicles, prime movers and trucks, light tactical vehicles and light utility vehicles. Of the Army’s various vehicle fleets, the largest today is the now all-but forgotten High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) or Humvee. The Army operates approximately 120,000 HMMWVs across all echelons and in each type of brigade combat team. Today and for many years to come, the HMMWV will be the Army’s primary light tactical vehicle. The Army plans to replace about half the Humvee fleets with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Some 50,000 Humvees will remain in the Army’s vehicle fleet for decades to come. Consequently, the Army must act now to develop a long-range plan for modernizing what will be a large fleet of HMMWVs. I have written more about the future of the HMMWV fleet for RealClearDefense here.