I Spent 7 Months Driving The Most Vulnerable Vehicle In The US Military
When compared to the Jeep that it replaced, the Humvee was a pretty solid truck, since it was a 'jack of all trades'.
It could be a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) site against enemy aircraft.
Replace the tires with tank-like treads and you have a truck that's awesome in snow.
Or a mobile hospital that could save troops' lives.
We could mount practically every weapon into the turret. This .50 caliber machine gun could hit targets effectively over 2,000 yards away.
Or the Tube launched Optically tracked Wire (TOW) missile system made it an effective tank-killer.
Turret gunners had it good and bad: you had a 360-degree view and got some wind, but you were the most vulnerable person in the truck.
But as a driver, I could usually count on the truck being able to get over just about any terrain.
Including fording up to 5 feet of water.
Which we did often in Afghanistan, as the snow melted in spring and created raging rivers.
Although that didn't mean it didn't come right in my open window and get me soaked.
When you get in before patrol, you push the engine start lever to the right. No keys needed, although we pranked new guys by asking them to 'find the keys to the Humvee'
The Humvee wasn't really designed with personal body armor and other gear in mind, so the driver's seat wasn't exactly comfortable.
The vehicle commander had a little more room. The VC sometimes had a Blue Force Tracker — a screen that gave info and map data.
As long as we used snow chains on the tires, it did pretty well in winter.
Although sitting in the version with an open-top back in the Afghan cold was absolutely miserable. I. Was. So cold there.
But the terrain in Afghanistan was much tougher than the Humvee was. A truck overheating was a common occurrence.
And just about every patrol, a truck broke down and would need to be towed back to base.
Then there were the times where we'd get stuck.
As improvised explosives (IEDs) became more common, our mix-and-match armor was basically a joke.
In early 2005, the up-armoring of Humvees was in full swing as IED's got worse.
The new trucks were better against bombs to the sides,
but anything detonating underneath it was usually deadly.
Luckily all 5 Marines in this up-armored truck survived and had very minor injuries.
But despite its many problems, it did serve some other 'improvised missions' well.
You've seen what it's like patrolling Afghanistan in a Humvee ...
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