Army seeks new armored vehicles

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- The acting secretary of the U.S. Army said in Washington the force is working to deploy new vehicles to Iraq and Afghanistan "as quick as we possibly can."

Pete Geren told the Senate Armed Services Committee the Army is buying Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to counter the threat of roadside bombs in the war-torn countries, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Geren, who is being considered by the committee as a permanent Army secretary, said the Army's commitment to equip troops with the vehicles matches that of the U.S. Marine Corps., which is ordering 3,700 MRAPs.

"I can't tell you the number, but whatever that requirement is, we're going to meet it, and we're going to move it to theater as fast as we can," he said.

Geren, a Democrat who once represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives, said a high-level Army team recently returned from a mission to evaluate the force's needs in Iraq and will soon announce its recommendations.