Criticism
The deployment of MRAP vehicles has not been without criticisms. The most common are concerns about the high cost ($17.6 billion program), potential logistical difficulties due to high fuel consumption and varied designs, a greater disconnection between troops and the local population due to their massive size and menacing look (conflicting with current counter-insurgency (COIN) strategy), and what U.S. military will do with them following a U.S. withdrawal from the current conflict in Iraq since they are expensive to transport and operate (some speculate they may be sold or donated to Iraq, or put in storage in America.) MRAP funding has pulled money away from other tactical vehicle programs, most noticeably the Humvee replacement, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, which has been delayed by two years.
According to Army Times, some troops openly wonder about the design of some versions of the MRAP. Some examples are: why the rear seats face inward and not outward in such a way they could fire their weapons through ports, which some versions lack. The height and steepness of the dropdown stairs at the rear of the some versions can make getting out of the vehicle dangerous. Troops riding in the rear can hit their head on the ceiling from bouncing up and down in rough terrain. Medics told the Army Times that a soldier broke his neck after bouncing his head off the overhead, and another is said to have seriously damaged his skull after slamming into a protruding bolt in the overhead while wearing a soft cover.
The MRAP has been well received in the field, where U.S. troops have expressed their fondness for the MRAP, stating that they would prefer to be hit by an IED in an MRAP than a Humvee.
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