U.S. Army and Marine Corps Equipment Requirements: Background and Issues for Congress

The United States Army and Marine Corps have been at war - first in Afghanistan and then Iraq - since November 2001. The Army's and Marine Corps' equipment has been employed in what has been described as "the harsh operating environments of Iraq and Afghanistan" where the heat, sand, and dust as well as operational rates "well in excess of peacetime rates" have taken a heavy toll on the Army's and Marines' equipment. Re-equipping Reserve and National Guard units that, in many cases, were under-equipped to start with and then required to leave their equipment in theater also presents challenges to the Services. The Army and Marine Corps are also undertaking efforts to re-equip their pre-positioned stocks which were drawn upon to provide equipment for use in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are also concerns that the Army and Marines have not always aggressively pursued the best force protection equipment available and the Army has been questioned on its efforts to improve the standard soldier assault rifle. Congress, in its appropriation, authorization, and oversight roles may be faced with some of the following issues: What are the Department of Defense's (DOD's) and the Services plans to reequip reserve forces so that they are sufficiently resourced for domestic missions and to properly train for deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan? What is the current state of pre-positioned stocks that have been drawn down again to support the Iraq "surge"? What type of equipment is being used to restock pre-positioned stocks and is this equipment fully operational or in a lesser state of readiness? How Many MRAPs does DOD intend to procure? Have bureaucratic difficulties attributed to the Army and DOD had an adverse impact on efforts to find a suitable replacement for the Army's M-16/M-4 series of assault rifles?