The Army may bill its brand new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle as a replacement to the much-maligned Humvee, but soldiers will remain stuck with the latter for the foreseeable future.
The Army's new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle offers the smoothest ride and the most creature comforts of any tactical vehicle they've driven before, soldiers told Task & Purpose. But officials say Army leadership is worried that its next-generation Humvee replacement might be too comfortable.
"For leadership, the ride is so smooth it brings its own concerns," 1st ABCT spokesman Maj. Pete Bogart told Task & Purpose. "My wife has a brand new Volkswagen Atlas, and it does so much for you, you often forget you're hurtling down the highway in a several-thousand-pound vehicle.
"Leadership wants soldiers to remember that they're in a tactical vehicle," he added, "not a Nissan Altima."
Editor's Note: This article by Matthew Cox originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
Army and Marine Corps combat units are starting to receive brand-new, high-performance Joint Light Tactical Vehicles. But if war with a major power ignites in the near future, the bulk of U.S. ground forces will go into battle with the same Humvees that struggled to survive the last war.
The Army's newly-fielded Joint Light Tactical Vehicle was supposed to be a worthy successor to the Humvees that so many veterans derided as "death traps" during the Global War on Terror, an up-armored modular infantry vehicle bristling with weapons.
But according to a Pentagon report, the new vehicles may prove as much of a headache for soldiers than vehicle it sought to replace.
Soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Italy are next in line to get their hands on the Army's brand new Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, Task & Purpose has learned.
