US Air Force,
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE: The 10,000th mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle is scheduled to be delivered to troops supporting Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom Sept. 25 by Air Mobility Command Airmen.
MRAPs were introduced in 2007, and AMC Airmen have been working around-the-clock planning, coordinating and executing air transport missions to rush the lifesaving vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Using a variety of aircraft, including C-5 Galaxies, C-17 Globemaster IIIs and contracted AN-124s, AMC officials have transported nearly 3,000 — roughly one third — of the total number of MRAPs delivered to the warfighters.
MRAPs are constructed with V-shaped hulls and a raised chassis design to deflect underbelly blasts, and have proven to be lifesavers against improvised explosive devices, small arms fire and mines.
“Our Airmen are directly helping to keep our troops on the ground safer,” said Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, the commander of Air Mobility Command. “I'm extremely proud of them and their efforts to speed the delivery of this lifesaving equipment to our forces.”
The efforts of AMC's Airmen are part of a multiservice effort to quickly get the vehicles in the hands of troops on the ground. The Air Force was the primary delivery option for MRAPs until December, when the Navy also began transporting the vehicles.
“It's a great feeling to deliver MRAP vehicles to the (area of responsibility) because of the impact on safety it provides other servicemembers,” said Master Sgt. Bill Lesage, a C-17 loadmaster with the 14th Airlift Squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. “At the end of a long duty day, you really feel a sense of accomplishment knowing that the MRAP is saving lives.”
