Prez to Fly in Style, Tells Troops to Drop Dead

Admirable as the USA Today investigation is (see the post below this one), I wish the paper had published a little sidebar comparing the glacial pace of the armored-vehicles procurement program to the speed with which the White House will get its fleet of 23 brand new executive VH-71 helicopters. The birds are to be used to transport the president as well as visiting dignitaries.

So let me do the honors instead.

First this: The VH-71 designers, rightly, haven't skimped on safety or luxury. Of course, it all comes at considerable expense. Last year, as I wrote at the time, the presidential helicopters were scheduled to cost 6.1 billion dollars — "for now," I added. And sure enough: the current projected budget overrun is reported to be 34 percent.

By comparison, the IED-deflecting armored trucks known as MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles) cost 

...between $600,000 and $1 million, though some foreign models cost only about $200,000 in 2004.

Let's say that's an average of half a million dollars, including a few shipments of those foreign-made trucks. If the fancy presidential helicopters end up costing taxpayers eight billion dollars, that's the equivalent of 16,000 MRAPs, an amount several magnitudes greater than the number needed under the most dire Pentagon scenario. And if the White House had decided to order just four or five executive helicopters, instead of 23, the savings would still have been more than enough to build sufficient numbers of MRAPs to protect every single U.S. service member sent on motorized patrols in Iraq. (Riding a Humvee instead of an MRAP is the difference between having a makeshift road bomb blow you through the roof in little pieces, and walking away with, at worst, a mild concussion).  

Now, presumably, the lack of MRAPs isn't just a consequence of cost (although that's been a factor); it's also the logistics of building them in sufficient numbers. Production capacity is "limited."

But where there's a will, there ought to be a way. For some perspective, I pulled a book with the World War II photos of Edward Steichen (Steichen at War) off my shelves. Author Christopher Phillips almost off-handedly states that

Following Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt called upon industry to turn out fifty thousand warplanes each year — a staggering demand. Working around the clock, aircraft plants not only met but surpassed that goal.

Equipping troops with crucial materiel has always been a matter of priorities. So let's take a cursory look at where this administration's priorities lie.

Lockheed Martin is producing the 23 presidential VH-71 helicopters  

...at least three years faster than the usual timetable for a major defense program.

Huh.

In 2004, President Bush told families of service members that "we're doing everything we possibly can to protect your loved ones."

No doubt the 1,500 soldiers and Marines blown to kingdom come in unprotected vehicles would beg to differ.

Comments

[Phelps]

The president doesn't vote on the budget that builds helicopters or trucks. He submits a budget, and then either signs off on what comes back or vetos it.

You might be better off looking at which senator has the VH-71s built in his district.

[Leah]

Phelps, that may well be true. But the president could certainly publicize those senators as well and embarrass them into supporting the troops. He just doesn't seem to think of the troops as human. They're just another piece of the Iraq issue for him.

[Nate]

I was not aware of this. You bum me out sometimes, Rogier, but I'm thankful for it.

[Jeff the Poustman]

Incisive points, Rogier. Can't you use your connections to get some big outlets/names to pick up on this story? It's appalling and should be brought to people's attention. Why the Democrats wouldn't hammer away at this I don't know.

(Ok, I suspect why, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.)

[Phelps]

Also, looking at this, the helicopters are coming out of the Navy budget, since the Marines handle presidential helicopters. This has zero to do with the Army budget. (I really don't think that the total amount of money being spent makes a hill of beans to Congress when they are busy shoveling money into their own districts at budget-time.)