PNAC leader helps to market war machines!!!

[NVMojo]

Rumsfeld Inspects Mine Clearance Vehicle Built by Force Protection Industries, Inc.; Armor Vehicle Manufacturer's Buffalo Vehicle Used to Remove IEDS, Save Lives in Iraq

LADSON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2005--Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld met with the U.S. Army's 612th Engineer Battalion in Iraq Wednesday (4/12) to inspect the Buffalo mine clearance vehicle manufactured by Force Protection Industries, Inc. (OTCBB:FRPT - News), a publicly traded company headquartered in Ladson, SC.


Rumsfeld was briefed on the mine- and blast-protected vehicle used by the Army to detect and remove explosive threats such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs), land mines and roadside bombs. As of Rumsfeld's visit, the 612th Engineer Battalion had used the Buffalo to identify 75 IEDs, including a vehicle-concealed device, during the three months it has been deployed in Baghdad.

One of the battalion's platoon leaders, Army 2nd Lieutenant David Swisher, told the American Forces Press Service the Buffalo vehicles have been hit by a variety of weapons including small-arms fire, grenades, artillery shells and "no one inside the Buffalo has ever been hurt."

"We are extremely pleased that Secretary Rumsfeld was able to inspect the Buffalo in active operations," said Force Protection Industries President Ted McQuinn. "Our vehicles are built with the specific purpose of protecting our troops and enabling them to remove the threat of IEDs and land mines. They fill a critical need in the war, and we will continue to do everything necessary to ensure the availability of this life-saving equipment."

Because approximately ten percent of IEDs explode during inspection, the protection of the heavily armored Buffalo is credited with saving lives in the face of explosions at close range.

Col. Jim Brooks, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division's Maneuver-Enhancement Brigade, said soldiers are "extremely confident" in the protection the Buffalo provides. "The bottom line is ... they want to ride in this," he added.

more....

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20050418005430&newsLang=en


How SA vehicles are saving lives in Iraq...



Johannesburg - United States Army and Marine personnel in Iraq are increasingly staking their lives on South African-designed armoured vehicles, British defence publication Defence Systems Daily reports.

Officially, the South African-acquired device is called the "mine protective clearance vehicle", or MPCV.

"But we just call it the Buffalo," said Army second Lieutenant David Swisher, a platoon leader with the 612th Engineer Battalion.

The US military does not have enough explosive ordnance disposal experts to be able to check every suspicious object.

On patrol, the engineers scan the sides of roads for anything suspicious. Iraqi insurgents have become adept at disguising roadside bombs - improvised explosive devices (IED) in military parlance - in harmless-looking items.

When something catches a soldier's eye as suspicious, the patrol will call in the Buffalo to "interrogate" the item.

more...

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=2813&art_id=qw1113894720229B213&click_id=2813&set_id=1

[Wickerman]

1. I wonder how long it will be before you can get one for the suburbs?

Is it as sexy as the Hummer?




different view and vehicle

[unhappycamper]

3. Wow - I didn't know you needed flak jackets & brain buckets in SC.

Fortunately, it looks like you don't need a magazine in your weapon.

[formerrepuke]

4. That's just the vehicle I need to make quick trips to the grocery store...

[Clark2008]

2. No! It can't be! No member of the PNAC would stoop to making

money off a war! :crazy:

:sarcasm: