MRAPs into storage? Not so fast & about that Asian pivot....

Thanks for the article Jonathan!

We're making a pivot to Asia.

We're getting out of Afghanistan.

Therefore we no longer need to have MRAPs as part of our frontline force.

Not so fast.  via Bangkok Post.

A roadside bomb killed eight soldiers in Thailand's restive south, an army spokesman said, raising questions over the durability of a fragile peace process aiming to end the near-decade long insurgency.
More than 5,700 people have been killed in a festering insurgency in Thailand's Muslim-majority southern provinces, but optimism for peace has flickered recently after talks between authorities and some rebel groups including the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN).
The bomb, among the most deadly single attacks by rebels on Thai security forces in recent years, ripped through a military truck transporting the soldiers after a night on duty at a base in Krongpinang district of Yala province.
"It was a very powerful bomb that completely destroyed the truck," spokesman Colonel Pramote Promin told AFP by phone.
"Ten soldiers were in the truck. Eight died and two were wounded," he said, adding that two villagers had also been injured in the blast.
"It's likely the biggest loss for our military so far this year."
Local media reports said the bomb weighed more than 50 kilograms (110 lbs), backing up the view of experts who say the rebels are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the the bomb attacks.
Near-daily assaults on security forces and civilians have continued despite a successful round of talks on June 14 which saw both sides agree to work towards curbing violence over Ramadan.
But prospects for a significant reduction in violence appeared to receive a blow last week after the BRN called for the army to return to their bases over Ramadan in exchange for a ceasefire during the holy month, a condition swiftly rejected by the kingdom's government.
Questions also linger over whether the BRN representatives negotiating with Thai authorities can rein-in violence by an increasingly battle-hardened and brutal younger generation of rebels believed to be behind much of the worst violence in Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces.
The nine-year-old insurgency has claimed more than 5,700 lives in the Muslim-dominated south, the majority of them civilians, where many local people complain of a long history of discrimination by Thai authorities in the Buddhist-majority nation.

That my friends is a classic IED attack.  The same thing that our forces face in Afghanistan.  Additionally you see this throughout Asia...at least anywhere a current insurgency is being fought.  Just off the top of my head that includes the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and parts of China.  And that's just off the top of my head.  I'm sure the list is alot longer.

The terrorist have exported their expertise halfway around the globe and we'll face the same issues in Asia as we have in Afghanistan for the foreseeable future.

Kinda makes ya think the Marine Corps Personnel Carrier might have been canned a bit prematurely don't ya think?

But even if they stick with that decision it would be beyond stupid not to have a full fleet of MRAPs aboard a MPS ship ready to be deployed.  Even in the case of disaster relief it might be necessary to give our forces protected transportation.