U.S. Marines move to cut order of MRAPs

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The head of the U.S. Marine Corps suggested cutting the force's order of bomb-resistant vehicles by nearly 40 percent.

Marines Commandant Gen. James Conway submitted his recommendation Thursday to the Pentagon, saying he wants to cut his order of Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected vehicles -- also known as MRAPs -- from 3,700 to about 2,225, The Christian Science Monitor reported Friday.

The Marine Corps placed its initial order for the vehicles, which cost about $1 million apiece, earlier this year.

"There have been some things that have happened since then that is causing us to rethink a little bit what the total number ought to be," Conway said during a recent trip to Iraq and Afghanistan. "You combine the reduction in attacks with the fact that we're therefore not losing as many vehicles as we thought, with the fact that we're finding them not as capable off-road as we thought ... that all leads us now to believe that the number (of MRAPs needed) is something less then 3,700."