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| Marine's New Ride Rolls Out Years Late |
| 2009-02-04 |
| The Marine Corps is starting to deploy a jeeplike vehicle called the Growler, 10 years after conception and at twice the contract price, after delays that were caused by changing concepts and problems in contracting, development and testing, according to two reports. Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sought investigations by the Government Accountability Office and the Defense Department inspector general in light of complaints by the unsuccessful bidder on the project. But a spokesman for Levin said the inspector general's report, released last month, showed that cost increases and delays are so normal in defense contracting, particularly in contracts involving hundreds of millions of dollars, that they don't raise great concerns. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, however, stressed the importance of reforming procurement in remarks before the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, saying that all services are feeling the effects of weapons programs that have "had repeated — and unacceptable — problems with requirements, schedule, cost and performance." The idea for such a vehicle was developed in 1999 by the Marine Corps, which wanted a vehicle that could be carried in the V-22 Osprey aircraft to support assault operations and that would tow a 120mm mortar and an ammunition trailer. Today, instead of one vehicle that could serve both functions, there are two — one for reconnaissance and a shorter version that tows the mortar and ammunition trailer — built by the same company. The first Growlers in the mortar program — officially called internally transportable vehicles, or ITVs — have been deployed to Marine units, but with limited combat capabilities. Because of their light armor and ammunition safety problems, "you can't run it up the highway in an urban area such as Iraq," said John Garner, the Marines' program manager for the vehicle. "But it could accompany foot-mobile Marine infantry in a not-built-up area such as Afghanistan," he added. The inspector general report said that the average cost of a single Growler has risen 120 percent, from about $94,000 when the contract was awarded in 2004 to $209,000 in 2008. The unit cost for the vehicle with mortar and ammunition trailer has grown 86 percent, from $579,000 to $1,078,000. The first six mortar and ammunition systems have been sent to Marine units, as have about 20 ITVs. "It is up to unit commanders who receive them as to whether they will take them when deployed abroad," Garner said. The Army has 81 ITVs under contract and is awaiting bids on 70 more; there are 12 mortar and ammunition trailer systems under contract and 20 more out for bids, according to Garner. Troubles with the two systems started in 2004 during the final competition between two bidders for the vehicle contract. One bidder was a team of the giant defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. and a small company called American Growler Inc. of Ocala, Fla., known primarily for building a successful dune buggy using surplus, customized Army M151A2s, a popular version of the military jeep. The other was a contractor in Michigan called Rae-Beck Automotive LLC, which built a popular neighborhood electric car. By choosing General Dynamics and American Growler, the Marines were able to procure an existing vehicle that was equipped with components that could be purchased "off the shelf," avoiding costs of research and developing an entirely new vehicle. While the Rae-Beck entry was found to be superior in some tests, the Growler, according to Garner, was better "in the most important ones." But after the contract was awarded, Garner said, "there were significant additions made for capability." For example, an air suspension had to be added to allow the Growler to get on and off the Osprey because it could raise and lower its height. The makers added a new cooling system, power steering and power brakes, along with a beefed-up General Motors engine similar to the one used in the GMC Yukon. Altogether, Garner said, about $50,000 of the cost growth was in additional off-the-shelf items that now permit the Growler to travel up to 45 mph on a highway. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #14 A. Change orders cost money. B. General Dynamics had to get their cut. C. Major Change Orders cost MAJOR money. I suspect the folks at American Growler could have done the original item for $15 to $20,000 plus whatever is required to set them up for commo. Like the M151 the Growler is/was a tactical vehicle, not a highway cruiser. An armored vehicle is not an option for internal carry in a helicopter or V-22. |
| Posted by: tipover 2009-02-04 18:27 |
| #13 Mike N. coulda got us a bettter deal. |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-02-04 16:11 |
| #12 Ed, you stole the idea right off my keyboard, but I was thinking diesel Isuzu. (Chevy) |
| Posted by: Rednek Jim 2009-02-04 14:23 |
| #11 I think something like a Suzuki Samurai would fit nicely in a V-22. Even w/ a JP-8 fueled engine it would probably be around $20K. Or 4 ATVs in it's place. 1 mortar carrier, 1 ammo carrier, 2 recon. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-02-04 12:25 |
| #10 And changing a whole lot of the design after awarding the contract is a sure way to jack up costs. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-02-04 12:10 |
| #9 Bet the Dominicans only have 1) 5% of the paperwork and process that DON/DOD/GSA procurement has. and 2) only one interest group group to satisfy. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-02-04 11:56 |
| #8 If you look at the version the Dominican Republic paid $14,500 for, and to the version the Marines got, you'll notice the Dominicans got twice the seating capacity for 7% of the price. They also did not have to wait 10 years to get it. The solution seems obvious to me: Have the Dominicans purchase all the Marines' gear! Even taking Dominican bribes into account, it will cost less than sending it through the Pentagon. /;-p |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2009-02-04 11:39 |
| #7 Sounds like they re-built it from the ground up to put in "low rider" hydraulic suspensions and other weird crap to get them to fit into Ospreys. Stupid goddamn technophilic waste of time and money. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-02-04 11:18 |
| #6 Built by Ocala, Fla.-based American Growler, the original Growler is made partly from salvaged M151 jeep parts and is available in several versions for as little as $7,500 in kit form. At the high end, there's a $14,500 upgraded "tactical dune buggy" with a "bikini top." $14,500 -> $209,000, bikini top extra. Does not compute. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-02-04 10:19 |
| #5 Let me see if I understand: lightly armored check, can tow a 120mm mortar check, can reach 45 mph on road (and much more). Humm, I think the WWII Jeep could have exceeded specifications hands down at a fraction of the cost. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-02-04 10:10 |
| #4 both sound like useless junk too me, still building vehicles for the european thetre i see. What came out of the first tour of the Ospey in Iraq? |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-02-04 09:31 |
| #3 The Marine Corps is starting to deploy a jeeplike vehicle called the Growler, 10 years after conception and at twice the contract price Nothing compared to the developmental saga of the MV-22 Osprey. I hope the engines on the Gowler last longer than the Osprey's however. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-02-04 08:16 |
| #2 What, there's no heater? No, that's the Army model option. The air conditioner is the Air Force model option. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-02-04 08:08 |
| #1 Glad they finally remembered that power steering change order. What, there's no heater? Damn, who screwed that up? |
| Posted by: KBK 2009-02-04 00:36 |