Pentagon: MRAPs seeing use quickly once in Iraq

A number of stories have noted the potential difficulties in getting the new MRAP vehicles to the front lines with all the onboard gear. The manufacturers make the basic vehicle, then trick it out with electronics and whatnot, and then the military may do its own modifications before the vehicle is set for use.

Yesterday Colonel Stephen Twitty gave a Pentagon teleconference from FOB Marez in Iraq.

Here's part of an exchange dealing with MRAPs. Click the link following to read the entire press conference.

Q Hopefully you can hear this. What I'm trying to find out is, from the time you receive a vehicle until it can actually go into operation, how long a period is that taking? I know there's been some questions about what it is taking to get actually to the soldier once it arrives.

COL. TWITTY: Sir, I'll give you an example. We received an MRAP two days ago.

That piece of gear is in operation right now in the Za'ab triangle, so we're not having problems with, once the equipment arrives at our location, getting it into the fight. I don't see anywhere that that equipment has been held up anywhere. It is the same thing with the countermeasure systems that we're using. I have not seen anywhere that that equipment has been held up and we could not get it in the fight.
(Defenselink.mil)

I wonder if this account is typical, or if the different varieties of MRAP require different levels of preparation for the daily operations once they arrive in Iraq or Afghanistan?