HOUSTON -- As you watch the assembly line of the Army’s FMTV’s, or Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan, work like clockwork it becomes clear that lives depend on the successful installation of every single piece.
“We’ve been able to equip the Army as the need arises. Everything has requirements. They get the same quality out of every station,” said BAE Systems Operations Manager Harold Reibenstein.
Now, the livelihood of all of the employees working that assembly line, including Reibenstein’s, is also at stake. The U.S. Army told BAE Systems that the contract to build FMTV’s, which BAE Systems has had for 17 years, is going to their Wisconsin competitor, Oshkosh Corp. BAE Systems believes they have not been treated fairly so they have filed a protest with the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO).
“Basically when the Army evaluated our proposal, they evaluated all three competitors as equal. We find it inconceivable that BAE Systems, a company that has built these vehicles for 17 years and built 56,000 would be rated as equal to a competitor that’s only built one prototype,” said BAE Systems Spokesperson Davy Kong.
These FMTV’s don’t only support soldiers abroad; they support the economy of our region here at home.
“The 3,100 direct jobs are supported by 6,400 indirect jobs. That’s where we know that $1.8 billion is the combined loss to our regional economy,” said Greater Houston Partnership CEO Jeff Moseley.
On December 14, 2009, the GAO will tell BAE Systems employees if they’ll be testing FMTV’s on the assembly line or testing their luck in the unemployment line in December 2010.
