Portrait of the failed Stryker

Another sad story of the defective 8-wheeled truck. Even the photo is symbolic.

Three of the four Strykers vehicles in his platoon were immobilized — one from too many busted tires, one from a broken axle and one from an assortment of safety issues that made it undrivable.

The excuse given is lack of spares due to budget cuts. But then we have this:

“These trucks have been ripped apart and put back together four times” in the past year, with each “rip” representing a maintenance overhaul, Minton said.

Not mentioned is all the contractor maintenance.


Then there is Military.com's delusional reporting as another hapless Army unit converts to the Stryker.

Let us not be too hard on Military.com though:

Stryker Audit Finds Muddy Repair Spending

And how about the performance of that contract maintenance?

The Army spent about $1.6 billion on its latest six-year maintenance contract for the work, and General Dynamics, the vehicle's manufacturer, excelled at its main task of fielding battle-ready Strykers.

But the three Inspector General reports suggest the Michigan-based Army office overseeing the work gave the company little incentive to keep down its costs.

General Dynamics had no competitors for the contract. It had a fixed profit and would be reimbursed for all costs up to the contract limit, according to the first audit.

(GD contractor maintenance at Joint Base Lewis-McCord)

We seem to have a big disconnect in perceptions and stories. Read this from the back yard of Joint Base Lewis-McCord.

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See, Blacktail's Stryker Series on YouTube.