Better-armored Humvees saving U.S. lives

MUSA QALA, Afghanistan - Spc. Rene Reyes recalls flying through the air, hoping he wouldn't break anything when he landed. Staff Sgt. Dennis Kirk remembers nothing — the anti-tank mine that exploded under their Humvee knocked him out cold.

They are among an increasing number of U.S. soldiers surviving roadside bombings in Afghanistan thanks to thick armor plate and bulletproof glass windows that now encase Humvees. The front of their vehicle was shorn off, but the armored shell around them remained intact.

Kirk, 24, from Hopatcong, N.J., suffered a concussion and a hairline fracture in his right leg. Reyes, a 22-year-old from Oak Park, Ill., acting as gunner atop the Humvee, had only a cut on his wrist after being thrown nearly 100 feet. Three other soldiers also survived.

After the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, the military drew criticism for sending out troops in "soft-skin" Humvees that couldn't stand up to explosives, and the Defense Department struggled to upgrade its fleet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/afghan_surviving_bombs_lh1

Which are injuring and killing troops.

:eyes:

saving." it's a whirlwind of conflicting propagenda.

That's a big truck

The ones who are not so heavy and our troops are inside.With twin 50's on the top with our kids inside will not get to Iraq until 2008. But Haliburton has them now.

nt.

We were there a year, patroling Baghdad. 8 hour shifts, 24 hours a day. We didnt lose a single soldier. They went again after I left the unit, and it was the same result. I credit the Up-Armors