The Croatian Army received more than two dozen military vehicles from excess Army inventory at a ceremony in Croatia, April 7.
The 30 Maxx PRO Plus model Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicles, known as MRAPs, were being divested from Army inventory and were available for Foreign Military Sales.
About a year and a half ago, the Army Field Support Battalion-Italy, a subordinate unit of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, U.S. Army Sustainment Command, in Livorno, Italy, received a mission to reset nearly 200 MAXX PRO Plus model MRAP vehicles, said Tim Fore, Director, APS and Sustainment Operations.
“Reset, in this case, is sustainment level repair to TM (technical manual) 10/20 (user level) standard using Delayed Desert Damage criteria because of the effects the SWA (Southwest Asia) environment had on the equipment,” said Fore.
The support battalion completed maintenance on over 70 vehicles when the Army halted production and use of that particular model.
Fore said the remaining 120 MRAPs will stay at that site for now. Livorno is one of the Army Pre-positioned Stock locations, and one of two in Europe.
Through the Foreign Military Sales program, Croatia, a U.S. coalition partner, was able to purchase the vehicles from the U.S. government.
Croatian Army officers traveled to Livorno and selected the vehicles after test driving them with a host nation inspector assigned to AFSBn-Italy.
Fore said it was a two-day process selecting, test driving and loading the MRAPs for shipment.
The vehicles were turned over to the U.S. Navy to execute the Foreign Military Sales with Croatia.
“These vehicles were excess to Army requirements and are now in the hands of a very thankful coalition partner,” said Ross Sawtelle, strategic planner in the Navy International Programs Office. “You can all be proud of the work behind the scenes to make this, and similar, events a reality.”
