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The Anniston Army Depot has been designated a Depot Source Of Repair (DSOR) for the new M10 Booker combat vehicle, as announced by Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, last week.
The M10 Booker was rolled out June 8 as the result of a nearly six year acquisition project to develop a combat vehicle that can provide mobile, protected, direct, offensive fire capability. Army officials including acquisition chief Doug Bush have insisted the M10 Booker, an “armored track vehicle with a large caliber main gun” is not a tank, although Bush accidentally referred to it as a tank during unveiling, according to the Military Times.
The Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council also referred to the term tank while saying the designation “keeps Anniston positioned to maintain and repair all the legacy and future heavy and light tanks.”
The Anniston Army Depot is already the designated Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for tracked and wheeled ground combat vehicles, except for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Army refers to it as the “combat vehicle center of the free world.” Now as one of 32 DSORs in the world, the Anniston Army Depot will conduct all depot-level maintenance of the M10 Booker.
“The Anniston Army Depot is a valued piece of East Alabama and a hub for excellence in ground combat vehicle maintenance. I am glad to see the Army make this designation and I am excited to see the Depot excel with this new assignment that will help secure its vital role in Army sustainment for the future,” Rogers said.
The not-a-tank was formally referred to as the Mobile Protected Firepower system and is developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) under a $1.14 billion contract for 96 vehicles. On July 6, the Army awarded an additional $257.6 million to GDLS for another 26 systems. The Army aims to eventually acquire 504 systems with four battalions fielded by 2030.
