12 January 2008

J. gets a great view from the RG-33 Caimon MRAP

J. gets a great view from the RG-33 Caimon MRAP <<J in turret.jpg>>

4 comments:

mike said...

Hi cris I was just wondering what you and the troops think of the caimon? I help build them and me and my coworkers was just wondering thanks and good luck Mike

Chris said...

Mike, Thanks for writing in! My buddy S. (another surgeon) and I were trying to figure out if the one we got to see was a RG-31 or a RG-32 and I also didn't know how to properly spell Caimon!
The troops love them. They tell me that they have lots of room, they feel like they have excellent defense against IED's. I can tell you that I have seen survivors of attacks on MRAP's, and they have excellent protection. In one incident, the cabin of a MRAP was completely blown off of the frame and the engine had been blown 50 feet down the road. All occupants were okay. One danger spot seems to be the turret, but that is inevitable. The troops liked the turret surround that had no breaks once the weapon was in place. I asked them if the weight and size was a problem with bridges or city streets, and they said no, they were careful to choose proper terrain. From a surgeon's standpoint, I think the vehicle is saving lives.

mike said...

Hi chris thanks for writing back Im glad to hear you guys like the truck and they are doing well I was sorry to hear yesterday that a soldier was killed in a mrap on saturday i have not herd what truck it was.I was wondering if you were talking about the truck in the picture if so it is a caimon 1 built by us at what was ARMOR HOLDINGS butt now BAE SYSTEMS the RG-31 and RG-33 was built by BAE the difference in the two is the 33 is 6X6 and 31 is 4X4 well got to go to work and thanks again for the reply Ihope the trucks keep saveing lives .And thanks for what you and all the troops are doing.

Chris said...

Mike, It's so sad to hear the bad news about the troop's death. But I expect that the best chance they had was in a V-bottomed hull like the RG-33. It gets them to the fight, but the fight is pretty nasty. My first though was that I hope it wasn't one of the guys I know, but truth is, it horrible no matter who it was.

Thank you for the hard work that you and your teammates do. I know the more resistant vehicles we get out there the better.

Take care,

Chris