Photo By Spc. Benjamin Fox | Pfc. Matt Wheeler, native to Lynnwood, Wash., and Pvt. Greg Giordano, a native of...... read more read more
Subscribe
By Pfc. Ben Fox
3rd BCT, 1st Cav. Div. PAO
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – As preparation to move forward into Iraq, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division equipped their vehicles in one of the same ways a Soldier gears up to leave for a mission – armor.
Like a Soldier, the vehicles the brigade brought from Fort Hood were being covered with personal protective equipment, also called up-armor, at Camp Buehring, Kuwait Oct. 9.
"Without the armor, (the vehicles) would be more susceptible to (improvised explosive devices) and small arms fire," said Pfc. Matt Wheeler, Company B, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, who worked with other Soldiers and civilian contractors to attach the armor to palletized loading systems.
The skin of the vehicle is thin and the armor adds the extra protection Soldiers need, said Wheeler, a native of Lynnwood, Wash.
Upgrading the armor on the vehicles is time consuming, said Wheeler, but it is necessary for the safety of the troops who will be riding in them.
Sgt. Edmund Casebeer, who worked on the vehicles with Wheeler, said the armor not only increases protection, but confidence in his own safety.
"I feel more protected in it," he said.
"Anything you can do to make your vehicle a little bit safer is worth it," said Pvt. Greg Giordano, a native of Tunnersville, N.J., who put armor on palletized loading systems with Wheeler and Casebeer.
Giordano hasn't deployed before, but said he has been told stories about how armor has prevented Soldiers harm from explosions.
Another Soldier has had first hand experience. Spc. Steven Mercado, native to Cressin, Texas, said he has seen the armor hold up under small arms fire, and the only damage the vehicle received was "a couple of dings and missing paint."
Even though he has only seen the armor in a small arms fire situation, Giordano said judging by the thickness of the armor, "it could probably withstand a lot."
| Date Taken: | 10.09.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 10.25.2006 10:37 |
| Story ID: | 8146 |
| Location: | CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 47 |
This work, 'Grey Wolf' Soldiers Upgrade Vehicles, by SPC Benjamin Fox, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
