Here are some quick facts from Wikipedia’s page for the MRAP:

• MRAP stands for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected.
• MRAPs are a family of vehicles rather than just one design like the Hummer or M1A1 Abrams.
• There are no common designs since a number of vendors supply their own versions.
• The MRAP program is being funded through an “emergency war budget”.
• Since making the vehicles available to soldiers in the field was a priority, the military granted contracts to a number of vendors to speed up manufacturing.
• The hulls are V-shaped to deflect energy away from the vehicles.
• Because of the weight combined with the design, a high center of gravity makes the MRAPs susceptible to rollovers from poor road conditions.
• An MRAP II program has been initiated to develop a new vehicle in order to better protect against explosively formed penetrators (EFP) which use shaped charges to form a jet of metal to cut through armor.

From the pictures that my brother sent me, it looks like they were being trained to use FPI’s Cougar. They come in both a 4×4 and a 6×6 version. Over 3500 vehicles are expected to be delivered by the end of 2008. There’s been a number of Cougar’s that were subjected to IEDs and mines in Iraq and Afghanistan where crew members survived the blasts with some of the trucks still operational enough to get to safety.

Photo: A Cougar MRAP after driving over a mine. All crew survived with minor injuries and the Cougar was driven two miles to safety on three wheels after the explosion.

It comes with mixed feelings. I’m proud of him and his unit with the service and dedication to the country’s interests. He was a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom during its first year. Now he’ll serve as part of the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom. At the same time, I’m saddened at the fact that I won’t know when I’ll be able to seem him next. I assume that he’ll get a break at some point and be granted some leave time where he’ll fly back and visit for a week. But since things don’t seem to be going as planned, I can’t rely on hope.

There’s been some confusion in regards to his discharge date. His term of service is to end in February of 2009. For instance, he’s not supposed to be deployed within a year of that date, but some wording in the official orders makes it seem as though they can hold him, an effective stop-loss, until the end of the tour. He had been trying to convince higher-ups that someone wasn’t interpreting the orders correctly, but to no avail. I guess there’s still a chance for the end of his term in February. We won’t know until someone else finally makes that call. Regardless of any outcome, he’s still in Afghanistan.

Here’s a quick video of my brother escorting his friend through an OC (aka Pepper Spray) training course.