Hillbilly armor

I have a picture that shows the front of a HMMWV after an encounter with an IED. The front end was completely blown off. The engine, fenders, tires, everything is missing. You just see the windshield and the firewall. The occupants were not seriously injured, which is testimony to the design and build of the HMMWVs, and to the personal protection soldiers wear. In my unit, we were all required to wear ear and eye protection every time we left the FOB, in addition to our helmets and body armor.

This type of photo is now forbidden by the Army to be posted, but since I’m in the civilian mode at the moment, I’m not subject to that rule. (This weekend at drill is another story.) The Army’s rationale is that posting such photos will help the enemy by allowing them to learn of the effectiveness of their attacks, so that they can improve their techniques. I agree with this, and would not post a photo that could help the enemy or endanger US soldiers.

In this case, the attack was months ago, and I could post the picture without referencing when or where the attack occurred. I do not think the enemy could learn much from it. I have chosen not to post the photo, however, I guess because it could encourage the enemy. Even if they can’t learn from it, they could look at it and see that IED attacks can be affective. Boost morale, in effect.

So instead I have posted a picture of what we called “Hillbilly Armor.” This photo is of a 5-ton truck. The window was removed, and a piece of one-quarter inch steel was slipped down into the door. This was the protection for the vehicle as it was driven from Kuwait, through Baghdad, to Kirkuk.

The other photo is of a HMMWV with hillbilly armor strapped to the sides of the bed rails. Soldiers left our FOB every day in this vehicle, and this was their protection. This was used only for a very short daily trip into Kirkuk, and no one in the back was ever injured due to lack of armor. Still, the soldiers were not very happy about riding in this.

The US is making good progress in equipping the force with up-armored vehicles, but it still has a way to go. Our unit made efforts to allocate the safest vehicles to the most unsafe areas. The Army being the Army, some of the best vehicles were assigned to senior leadership, and would sometimes just sit for days without leaving the FOB. Soldiers saw this and complained bitterly about it, and to their credit, our leadership did try to respond and allow their vehicles to be used when not otherwise needed. However, by then it was too late and the “urban myth” of the up-armored HMMWV that never leaves the FOB was widely believed.