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Old 02-11-2020, 07:28 AM
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Exclamation The U.S. Military Has a 'Right to Repair' Problem

The U.S. Military Has a 'Right to Repair' Problem
By: Kyle Mizokami - Popular Mechanics - 02-11-20
Re: https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...ght-to-repair/

Agreements between the Pentagon and defense contractors are preventing the military from fixing its own equipment.

* The U.S. military is signing increasingly restrictive agreements with defense contractors.

* These agreements prevent troops from fixing their own equipment.

* This conundrum mirrors the “right to repair” debate, and ironically is the result of the military using civilian equipment.

U.S. troops in the field are running up against increasingly restrictive licensing agreements signed by the Pentagon that limit their ability to service their own equipment. This presents a readiness and equipment confidence issue, which could make American forces less effective in wartime.

An article at Foxtrot Alpha takes a look at the “right to repair” issue faced by today’s military. The article reports on how changes to the military procurement system allowed the Pentagon more leeway in buying civilian equipment—a good thing by any measure. Unfortunately, those agreements often include similar versions of the civilian warranty, which effectively prohibits civilians from servicing their own equipment.

The right-to-repair issue is relatively new in the world of consumer rights. Restrictive warranty agreements, from iPhones to John Deere tractors, often prevents consumers from making repairs to their own devices or having a third party perform the repairs without voiding the warranty. Manufacturers claim the warranties are necessary in order to ensure the repairs are done correctly, but the repairs are often expensive and more time consuming than allowing the consumer to do it.

Two examples laid out at Foxtrot Alpha are the Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) medium truck and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), both made by Oshkosh.

Both vehicles are built by the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Corporation, a truck builder and military contractor, and though Oshkosh does manufacture civilian equipment like cement mixers and fire trucks, the models above are both intended for military use only. Despite that, the procurement contracts for these two systems retained service and warranty terms that gave the vendor total control over warranty repairs and the delegation of any support work to third-party contractors.

Needless to say, vendor control over warranty repairs is a completely unworkable scheme in wartime. It’s almost as though whatever Pentagon agency that signed the contracts had no idea the mission of the U.S. military is to fight wars. While Oshkosh might get something of this in the near term, if such a restrictive agreement places troops at risk in wartime—or worse—one of America’s oldest vehicle manufacturers is going to have a serious problem on its hands.

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Personal note: That's bullshit - they can teardown or repair their own weapons or merchandised equipment!? What kind of shit is that? If it breaks down you just go get a new one?! That's nuts. Something is wrong with any such agreement! The men in the field have to have the right to: tear down - clean and repair - as needed!

Boats
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O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
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