During a recent town hall meeting, on December 8th, at a staging area in Kuwait, Army Specialist Thomas Wilson asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld why many wheeled vehicles are not properly armored in Iraq. Wilson asked, "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor our vehicles?" The soldiers do not have an adequate barrier between themselves and attacks, such as roadside bombs. This comment caught our attention here at Arcadia.
Solution
Arcadia has been working to retrofit humvees overseas with sufficient armor since March 2004, long before the issue was brought to national prominence through Wilson’s “tough question”. Since the December 8th town hall meeting in Kuwait, Arcadia’s production has catapulted into two full shifts. We are cutting various parts out of armor plate and steel that are sent to the Watervliet arsenal. These parts include a 3/8” thick armor plate door panel, which provides an extra layer of protection for soldiers in the line of fire. At the arsenal, these cut and painted parts are assembled into kits, which supply soldiers with the proper materials to “up-armor” their vehicles. As of March 2004, we have provided enough material to retrofit 1,200 humvees. Together with the arsenal we are working extremely hard to ensure that our troops overseas are properly protected during the War on Terror.
Arcadia 80 Cohoes Ave Green Island, NY 12183
Phone: (518) 434-6213 or Toll Free: 1-800-354-4466 Fax: (518) 434-2527
E-mail: info@arcadiamfg.com
