MRAP Production Team Stands Proud

Department of Defense Photo Essay

  • Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles await completion outside the Force Protection Industries Inc. factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. The factory is one of the biggest MRAP producers, keeping up with demand for the vehicles that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has called "a proven lifesaver" on the battlefield. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. look over paperwork to make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • A worker at Force Protection Industries Inc. makes a Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicle at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Production began in 2001 and increased significantly in 2006, as it became increasingly clear that the MRAP's V-shaped hull, which deflects underbelly blasts, was providing better protection for troops from improvised explosive devices. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 and Buffalo MRAP vehicles at a factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. A week and a half ago, a military medical specialist passing through Charleston called the factory and asked if he could stop by to thank the workers personally for the production of the "Buffalo" that protected him during his 15 month-tour in Iraq. "He said he'd used the Buffalo 15 times, and that it saved his life 13 times," said Tommy Pruitt, Force Protection Industries' public relations director. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. who make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAPs in Ladson, S.C., are working two shifts a day, six and sometimes seven days a week to speed MRAP deliveries to the combat theater, Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc., make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. The company produced 300 MRAPs in 2006 and recently celebrated the roll-out of its 1,00th Cougar in November 2007. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. To ensure it could keep up with demand, Force Protection Industries entered into a partnership with General Dynamics that allowed the companies to share resources and technical knowledge; such partnerships are a rarity among defense contractors, a Force Protection Industries spokesman said. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Workers at Force Protection Industries Inc., make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAP vehicles at the factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently toured the Ladson, S.C., factory where these workers at Force Protection Industries Inc. make Cougar H 4 X 4 MRAPs, Jan. 18, 2008. Gates praised the workers' efforts, comparing the importance of their work to that of their World War II counterparts. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby
  • An MRAP vehicle waits to be completed in the fully automated section of the Force Protection Industries Inc. factory in Ladson, S.C., Jan. 18, 2008. Defense Dept. photo by Cherie A. Thurlby