Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

reason.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 23 posts

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#11

Post by cynwoody »

gcb1 wrote: post #8

at reddit when this showed up weeks ago, ppl in the military were commenting how driving those are the worst thing they did on service. that its dangerously jumpy to the point they would question driving over speed bumps or crosing over sidewalks. seems that some company developed something for military no-price-limits market that turned out so bad that they started a bargain sale to civilians. ohio was just the firs…

>ohio was just the first sucker that had to spend last minute budget to not lose it next year.

Spend it† or lose it was my first thought, too.

†And then decide what, if anything, to use it for.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#13

Post by Moto7451 »

westicle wrote: post #4

I'd be interested to know more about the actual uses and capabilities of the vehicle. For example, the article states that the military has had problems with using the vehicles off-road and that the vehicle is prone to flip. Elsewhere it is described as resistant to mines and ambush (how exactly?). I'm wondering what situation a university campus is likely to encounter where this vehicle would be superior to, say, a…

My understanding from some of my Iraq war veteran friends is that Humvees lack adequate undercarriage armor and they aren't designed for/can't be properly modified to carry the proper armor. There are newer ones with beefed up engines and suspensions but it's kinda like deciding you want to jump ramps/obstacles in a vehicle and trying to supe up your pickup truck rather than building a race truck[1].

MRAP is not a single vehicle but a class of vehicle[2]. The name kind of says it all: Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected.

My friends were stationed in bases inside Iraq and never really had to do any "off road-ing". They had to convoy between different installations within the country. Typically on poor roads but roads none the less. They worked with the Iraqi Defense Force to transport prisoners, supplies, etc.

This[2] is the kind of stuff that they were scared to death over and why they wanted MRAPs. Apparently Humvees don't take kindly to those sort of explosions or rockets, mines, IEDs, etc.

[1]My buddy and his friends do this with their Tacomas and regularly blow out suspension and drivetrain parts. CVs especially. This is no fault of the Tacoma, they are NOT designed to jump large gaps at speed like a Trophy truck.

[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRAP

(GRAPHIC)[3] http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=02b_1189545597 (GRAPHIC)

Edit:

That said, I have NO idea why they'd want these in a city other than the bling/super Ninja Robocop ego factor. Using the same SWAT vehicles as the local PD seems like a better choice since the support network would already exist.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#14

Post by yareally »

dllthomas wrote: post #12

I assume the intended use is an invasion of Michigan.

Happened once before (sorta) in a dispute over state boundaries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

Ohio ended up getting the area around the Ohio/Michigan state line and Michigan got the upper peninsula.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#16

Post by westicle »

Moto7451 wrote: post #13
westicle wrote: post #4

I'd be interested to know more about the actual uses and capabilities of the vehicle. For example, the article states that the military has had problems with using the vehicles off-road and that the vehicle is prone to flip. Elsewhere it is described as resistant to mines and ambush (how exactly?). I'm wondering what situation a university campus is likely to encounter where this vehicle would be superior to, say, a…

My understanding from some of my Iraq war veteran friends is that Humvees lack adequate undercarriage armor and they aren't designed for/can't be properly modified to carry the proper armor. There are newer ones with beefed up engines and suspensions but it's kinda like deciding you want to jump ramps/obstacles in a vehicle and trying to supe up your pickup truck rather than building a race truck[1]. MRAP is not a si…

Interesting, thanks for the info.

It still leaves me wondering:

1. Why a university would be expecting vehicle mines or even IEDs on campus; and

2. What value an armoured vehicle responding to that situation would have anyway.

My understanding is that a vehicle mine is pretty useless once you know it is there. This seems like a vehicle designed for regular trips over highly contested or hostile (but reasonably well-maintained) roads.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#17

Post by montitro »

dagw wrote: post #10
andymcsherry wrote: post #3

Riots after Ohio State/Michigan game get pretty intense, there's usually a fleet of helicopters out already.

Why does campus security have to deal with that? If it's really as bad as you claim, shouldn't it be up to the state or city police departments to deal with.

The campus security IS the police department. A lot of large state schools have fully-fledged police departments, not private security.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#18

Post by Moto7451 »

westicle wrote: post #16
Moto7451 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding from some of my Iraq war veteran friends is that Humvees lack adequate undercarriage armor and they aren't designed for/can't be properly modified to carry the proper armor. There are newer ones with beefed up engines and suspensions but it's kinda like deciding you want to jump ramps/obstacles in a vehicle and trying to supe up your pickup truck rather than building a race truck[1]. MRAP is not a si…

Interesting, thanks for the info. It still leaves me wondering: 1. Why a university would be expecting vehicle mines or even IEDs on campus; and 2. What value an armoured vehicle responding to that situation would have anyway. My understanding is that a vehicle mine is pretty useless once you know it is there. This seems like a vehicle designed for regular trips over highly contested or hostile (but reasonably well-m…

Another commenter mentioned the police's vehicles get flipped by rowdy sports crowds. The vehicle is probably surplus from the Iraq wind down. Some of LAPD's helicopter fleet is, apparently, military surplus.

I would think that even if their MRAP is free the logistics would make it more expensive that whatever vehicle SWAT is using. I would think that an Armored car (like a bank would se) would also be a good choice if they're just looking for a heavy and protected vehicle.

Realistically, it seems like if the crowd is that ugly, the local PD should be called in. I don't think riot dispersal is really a great responsibility for campus police.

Re the mines: I'm guessing you don't get much of a chance to check for mines, especially on convoy routes. Car bombs at checkpoints (like the video I linked) are probably impossible to detect before someone is in the blast zone.

Re: Ohio State University Gets Armored Military Vehicle, Dodges Questions About It

#20

Post by dllthomas »

yareally wrote: post #14
dllthomas wrote: post #12

I assume the intended use is an invasion of Michigan.

Happened once before (sorta) in a dispute over state boundaries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War Ohio ended up getting the area around the Ohio/Michigan state line and Michigan got the upper peninsula.

Yup. Was intended as a nod at both that, and the ongoing UM/OSU rivalry.
Post reply on HN