The Eggler Institute of Technology’s founder, Mark Eggler, was honored in the Australian Federal Parliament earlier this week for his pivital role is saving the Austalian’s Army’s Bushmaster Infantry Protected Mobility vehicle program over the period 2000-2002. In Decemeber 2001, the Defence Capability and Investment Committee (DCIC) took the unprededent decision to recommend the termination of the Land 116 Phase 3 Project Bushranger program to the Australian Goverment. At that time, this was potentially one of the most drastic decisions taken by the Department of Defence over the preceding 30 years.
In his speech to the Australiam HOuse ofThe Hon Luke Gosling MP emphasized the critical role that the Bushmaster vehicle has played in assisting Ukraine’s defense efforts, with Australia donating 90 Bushmasters so far. Luke highlighted that “the Bushmaster would not have seen the light of day… without Lt. Col. (retired) Mark Eggler, ADF Program Manager and Senior Systems Engineer” and he stated it was due to Mark Eggler’s dogged determination that ensured the troubled project was not cancelled in 2001.
An Australian Bushmaster Infanty Mobility Vehicle delivered by the Australian Army’s Land 116 Project Bushranger. The Bushmaster on operations in East Timor in 1999.
The Bushmaster vehicle is now recognized globally as one of the world’s best protected mobility vehicles. The Bushmaster vehicle has saved countless Australian and allied soldiers lives over the past two decades and continues to do so today. Well done Mark and thank you for your service!
If you would like to learn more about Mark Eggler’s pivotal role in saving the Bushmaster project, please check out The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s monograph “The Bushmaster: From Concept to Combat” here. To view the full video of the statement to the Australian Parliament by Luke Gosling, please head to the following link here.
