Go Cougars!

To many of us here at home a Humvee has always embodied American military posture. From war-torn Kosovo to the deserts of Kuwait, Humvee is a global extension of the American way. So powerful a symbol, GM has even adopted most design specs of this sturdy military transporter to a consumer-friendly "Hummer". But for those who ride the real thing in Iraq, the term "Humvee" has become synonymous with lost lives, limbs, and testicles.

The bloody carnage of the Iraqi urban warfare is largely the result of Improvised Explosive Device or IED attacks. Caught in the midst of a raging sectarian war, over eighty percent of US casualties in Iraq are troops killed by IED blasts. This data comes straight from the Pentagon, further explaining that 250,000 tons of looted Iraqi munitions provide insurgents with a steady supply of raw material for making these devices.

In exceedingly violent Iraqi areas like Diyala and Ramadi the often romantic image of a Humvee is shattered time and again as it offers virtually no protection against deadly roadside ambushes. And although High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV or "Humvee") was designed to perform support functions behind the front lines, thousands of these cheap, low maintenance trucks are currently used in combat.

A quite company parking lot in South Carolina seems distant from the ravages of war. There, towering over everything else, sits a massive 6X6 Cougar Urban Fighting Vehicle. Manufactured by Force Protection Industries in Charleston, SC, Cougar Series transports come in 4X4 and 6X6 twelve passenger variants, measuring 23ft 3in in length and 9ft vertically. That makes Cougar far more superior to HMMWV in both size and weight.

However, Cougar's most unique quality is its heavily reinforced V-shaped base, designed to deflect deadly IED bursts that warp and obliterate lighter, smaller Humvees. In his interview with Times Online, Mike Aldrich, a former artillery officer and present Force Protection vice-president proudly said that "since late 2004 until today there have been over 1,000 IED explosions against this vehicle without a single fatality".

That's because unlike Humvees, armored Cougars were built specifically to serve as "lead convoy" vehicles. In addition to guarding troops from roadside bombs, Cougars can withstand direct assault from rockets and machinegun fire of up to .50 caliber. Occupants are fastened directly to the frame of the vehicle by a four-point aviation harness, ensuring that a blast-induced shockwave won't send them bouncing around the cabin. Inside a Cougar there are no loose components, which become lethal debris in the event of a roadside blast. In contrast to HMMWV, all Cougars have longer operational range, can travel at 25 mph with damaged tires, and are fully air conditioned.

Rich, an E-4 grade active service member, who didn't want to give his last name for fear of being "kicked out", said that troops often make fun of Humvee's cooling fans. "We call them sweatboxes. All it does is blow hot air in a hundred and forty degree desert heat" he said, adding that heat related injuries were the most common non-combat hazard in Iraq. Rich also pointed out that Humvees are not suitable for battle, because their loud diesel engines warn the enemy of coalition troop presence. "They are not tactical at all. The bad guys can hear us from a mile away."

"At Force Protection we can't wrap our arms around our troops" says Aldrich, "but we can wrap our metal around them". Unfortunately, that metal is too precious and seldom available to most US troops fighting in Iraq today. Even in light of ever escalating death and injury figures, thousands of Humvees are still a primary means of battlefield transportation in Iraq's notoriously dangerous urban terrain. And while official numbers are classified, it is said that only a couple of hundred Cougars are currently deployed and used mainly for VIP transport.

The lack of adequate protection has forced American soldiers and marines to cobble together makeshift armor for their otherwise exposed Humvees. Layers of unsecured scrap metal, plywood, and sandbags are all part of what is commonly known among troops as "hillbilly armor". This prompted a number of politicians to speak out. A member of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi (D) said that "the Army needs to change course immediately", and that a prolonged lack of action "...is a scandal. It will lead to needless loss of life." A few prominent figures in the Senate, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and John McCain have also addressed the problem. However, political rhetoric on Capitol Hill rings especially hollow when routine convoys in Iraq continue to turn into massacres with no end in sight.

Present corporate leadership fails just as miserably in what most have come to recognize as the conflict of our generation. In the 1940s companies like Ford and GM have responded to German and Japanese industrial expansion by converting all their production facilities to the war effort. At the height of World War II Ford plants produced a new B-24 bomber every hour. Today Detroit's "big three" are in poor shape, this time as a result of friendly competition from Germany and Japan. Contracting the government to mass produce low cost armored vehicles seems only logical, as it will not only save lives, but also go a long way to giving struggling American automakers a much-needed financial boost.

Some critics cite Cougars' dollar value. At $500,000, each Cougar costs about four times more than a Humvee. However, Cougar's price tag should not be a setback, provided this administration's willingness to frequently dole out lucrative contracts for non-essential military support services like food catering, latrine cleaning, and entertainment. Historically, the army has been self-reliant in facilitating these functions. That's why when asked if he would give up many flavors of ice-cream available in Iraq's "green zone" and agree to peal potatoes in exchange for an air-conditioned, bomb-proof vehicle, Rich gave a resounding "any day".

Today's life-saving Cougars stand ready. But Pentagon says that an armored replacement for a Humvee will only be available as late as 2012. It demonstrates that after nearly four years of war, tangible civil sacrifice still gets lost in the wilderness of flags, bumper stickers, and unmerited spending. The official motto of Force Protection Industries is "protecting the troops is not our business, it's our cause". The fate of the nation hangs in the balance as these words continue to elude the rest of us.