San Diego Schools Has a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicle. Why?
Ok, this will probably end up being a little bit of a rant, but this is something that doesn’t make much sense. The San Diego Unified School District has utilized the 1033 Program to purchase a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicle (MRAP). The last time I visited San Diego, ambushes and mines were not a threat so why did they purchase this and how?
First, let’s start off with the how part and the 1033 Program. The 1033 Program allows the Secretary of Defense to transfer, without charge, excess U.S. Department of Defense property to state and local law enforcement agencies.
This allows for the purchase of “vehicles (land, air and sea), weapons, computer equipment, fingerprint equipment, night vision equipment, radios and televisions, first aid equipment, tents and sleeping bags, photographic equipment and more.” So, apparently this includes the San Diego Unified School District to purchase the MRAP.
Now, let’s get into the “why” part; San Diego Unified School District Police Chief Ruben Littlejohn has stated that the MRAP is to be used for “protection in the case of an active shooter or if the school needs to rescue children from a fire.”
So, I guess the MRAP will ram into the school that is on fire rather than call the fire truck to put it out? Oh, there is more, according to KPBS, not only will it fight fires but quoted Littlejohn to say that, “There will be medical supplies in the vehicle. There will be teddy bears in the vehicle. There will be trauma kits in the vehicle in the event any student is injured, and our officers are trained to give first aid and CPR.” Again, you can’t do this with an ambulance or a fire truck?
I get that the MRAPs are handed out like candy from the DoD since we are winding down in Iraq, kind of, and Afghanistan, again kind of; but schools and police don’t really need a MRAP.
If there is a situation where that kind of protection is needed we would call our National Guard into service at that point. Remember, these MRAPs are designed by BAE Systems as an eighteen-ton truck equipped with Tensylon composite armor, stations for manned or unmanned weapons systems, and a V-shaped hull to deflect land mines and improvised explosive devices.
I feel this is not only a waste of taxpayer money but unnecessary for even a local police force, never mind the San Diego Unified School District Police.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego school district will return its Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Vehicle to the Department of Defense. That’s a good start, but how and why did this happen in the first place?
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