Marine Corps Wants Smart Trucks That Can Pretty Much Repair Themselves | DoD Buzz

What a fantastic waste of time, resources, and manpower. Mark this, tab it, print it out and save it. This is another item in a long list of boondoggles that DoD loves to spend money on. So lets look at what the current system. Individual enlists, military trains them to be a driver or a mechanic. The capital for the truck is still being used. Part on truck breaks, individual orders it and an individual puts the part on, more or less. So now, lets spend more now but advertise that we will save more $ later (personnel costs, medical, retirement) by funding a complete new system with smart truck technology. Lets give it some cool acronyms as well. DoD will pay for a program now with a contractor to work out the kinks ect and then cost overrides that with program issues and needed technologies to develop ect push program completion from 5 years to 10 years. Then we have a war break out, SmartTruck deploys and said technology does not work. What does DoD do? Call to Serve Bonuses are announced for ex-Soldiers to get back in the military to drive and maintain trucks.

This is where AUSA and Retired GOs need to step in and say enough is enough. Automation will never beat well trained Soldiers, Airmen, or Marines. Period. Lets see automation in a NASCAR pit crew or at an INDY Rally Car event. One reason the military is always clamoring for money money is because of the Good Idea Fairy. Its time someone kicks the fairy to the wayside and removes the checkbooks from the current crop of Generals. At least till they can win a war.

As do I.