LIMA, Ohio -- In a whirlwind two-hour stopover here Sept. 30, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway did a walkthrough of General Dynamics' plant where the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) is built.

In an effort to save what is seen as an endangered program, the Marines have been pitching the EFV as a multipurpose vehicle, with capabilities extending beyond forcible entry, for which it was originally designed. "We're always looking to see what the EFV can give us the capacity to do," Conway said. "We're not going to spend this kind of money on a vehicle and think it has a single dimension capacity."

Conway pegged next spring as a time when the Marines may be able to breathe easier about the program. "By then, the Quadrennial Defense Review will have reported out and we'll have had our necessary debate," he said. Congress, too, will have had the chance by then to make its voice heard on the EFV.

"By spring, we should be able to have a much clearer way ahead in terms of the future of the vehicle," which could include reprogramming service money for it, Conway said.

Photo: USMC