Our Seabiscuit MRAP taught us Marines a lot

Col Mike Howard US Marines (Ret)

How an underdog horse with a warrior spirit inspired Marines to overcome adversity in combat.

This Veteran’s Day I got a call from a fellow old Marine “Battle Buddy” about our service in Iraq. Like Memorial Day, this annual reflection is focused on friends we served alongside with, particularly those who tragically did not return home.

Most of the American public does not realize that the vast majority of our casualties in this war were from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). These were custom made mines put together using any type of artillery shell, mortar, propane jug or other readily accessible explosive or pyrotechnic device. The whole point was for the enemy to assemble one of these and place it alongside, under or over a road where our vehicles would pass.

Our solution to defeating IEDs was much like that of the Allies defeating German U-boats in WWII … a multi-layered approach involving tactical awareness, sound communication & electronics, proper hardware, and offensive spirit. To defeat enemy IEDs we had to train & aggressively search for them. We had to locate & destroy their makers & operators. We had to block and interfere with their command detonated signals. But above all, we needed an armored, mobile, survivable vehicle that could absorb and deflect their explosions. We were blessed to have great coalition allies like the Aussies, Brits and Canadians who had previous links to the South African Army and its military heritage. During the Guerrilla “Bush Wars” of the 1970s & 1980s, the innovative Rhodesian Army had fielded a family of armored vehicles to deal with such mines and roadside explosive devices. These designs were adopted by the South Africans who eventually passed their “lessons learned” to their fellow English speaking cousins. When these were brought to the attention of our Pentagon, a young officer appropriately gave them the moniker MRAP (for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected). Essentially these were large armored trucks with a “V” shaped underbelly that would deflect an IEDs blast. Compared to a flat bottomed HMMWV (which our Marines referred to as “Spam in a Can”), the MRAP gave its occupants incredible protection. In fact, for the USMC Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) teams in Iraq equipped with Cougar MRAPs the first few years in Iraq, despite multiple IED hits, there were no Marines killed. This was a huge contrast to all our other folks in conventional HMMWVs & other standard military vehicles. With literally thousands of casualties soon being caused by IEDs (KIA & WIA), our command staffs began begging for more MRAPs. I was personally involved in this in 2004-2005 as the senior combat engineer representing I Marine Expeditionary Force “One MEF” G-3 to the Multi National Corps Iraq C-7 Engineers in Baghdad. Closely coordinating with my close friend Col Bill Hatton, the I MEF G-3 Engineer out west in Anbar Province at Camp Fallujah, we submitted a series of UUNS (Urgent Unified Needs Statements) from the senior US Marine Commanding General, Lieutenant General Statler, back to the Pentagon. Tragically, this is where the Pentagon system literally broke down and ignored the desperate needs and repeated requests of Americans fighting on the front lines! Senior bureaucrats chose to ignore us on the front lines because of their own petty priorities! They did not want funds from their pet projects diverted to MRAPs! Specifically, one general chose to sideline our UUNS because he wanted the money for an up-armored HMMWV from his favorite contractor. Pathetically, he would later retire and get a sizable $900,000 bonus from the Beltway bandits of our greedy military industrial complex. This general? The very same James Mattis who would later justifiably be fired by two American presidents: Democratic Barak Obama & Republican Donald Trump. But in the meantime, not only did Mattis delay MRAPs getting to the average American Marine and Soldier in Iraq, he also made the career of the one Marine in the Pentagon who had fought the hardest to support us on the front lines in Iraq: Major Franz Gayl USMC (Ret). Franz had the courage and integrity to defy Mattis and become a whistleblower, going public with the truth. When the Secretary of Defense, Bob Gates, a man of integrity and wisdom found out the truth behind this, he immediately moved MRAP development & procurement from #54 on the Pentagon list, to #1.

God bless Franz Gayl and Bob Gates!

These MRAPs would save literally thousands of American Marines, Soldiers & coalition allies not just in Iraq but also Afghanistan.

So what makes this story so fascinating besides an eventual $50 billion program for some 27,000 MRAPs?

The very first official heavyweight MRAP, known as a Buffalo, that was assigned to the embattled in Anbar Province, Iraq, we chose to name Seabiscuit !!

Just like its namesake, our US Marine “Biscuit” MRAP was not pretty, but dependable and rugged! She was a Thoroughbred to all of us and so we chose to name all the MRAPs that followed after great horses. She would faithfully serve through the Iraq War “Surge” and make a significant contribution to our American war effort. She is still waiting to be called up again in the large US Army storage facility at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Our trusted MRAPs are today just a short distance away from the wonderful D9 armored bulldozers we were given by Israel, that also made a difference in our march up to Baghdad & defeat of Saddam Hussein.

I remember a WWII story about a naval officer being interviewed about the mothballing of his battleship. He stated that it seems like Hillary to speak of such a large piece of metal in such affectionate terms. But I sure understand where he was coming from.

Our Seabiscuit MRAP taught us Marines a lot. These vehicles saved our lives!