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The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle — the HMMWV, or Humvee — is a stalwart of the battleground. If you asked someone to draw a military truck, they'd almost certainly draw this classic machine, which is almost older than a millennial (1984!) and gained such a pop culture following at one point that civilians started buying them. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in particular, is famous for his undying love of the "Hummer." But seriously, they're old. The US military has been keen on retiring Humvees for some time, and it has finally awarded the $6.7 billion contract to replace them to Wisconsin-based...

Yes, this is happening. Because the US Army needs a few extra bucks. That’s why. Very soon you will be able to buy a surplus Army-issue Humvee at prices starting around $10,000. Yep, this is the real deal. According to Yahoo News and the Army Times, the US Department of Defense will auction off as many as 4,000 military-spec Humvees, instead of sending them to scrap yards. The first batch of 25 Humvees is heading to the auction block tomorrow. Obviously these retired vehicles aren’t in perfect condition, most having been built between 1987 and 1994. They have anywhere from...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 3, 2009) -- The military's High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, also known as a "HMMWV" or a "Humvee," will continue to be made in the United States, by an American-owned company. The recent announcement that Detroit-based General Motors will sell their Hummer brand of vehicles to Chinese-based Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company, has no bearing on the U.S. military's Humvee. "The Army's Humvee and the civilian Hummer look similar and share a common appearance," said spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Downie. "But the rights to produce those two different vehicles are no longer owned by...

TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 17, 2008 – A ceremony here today marked the beginning of a program to refurbish and transfer more than 4,200 up-armored Humvees over the next 13 months. Some 627 vehicles now are staged in the holding yard ready to undergo a maintenance overhaul of brakes, belts and fluids before the appropriate paint scheme is applied. Once this process is completed, including quality assurance checks, the vehicles will be transferred to the government of Iraq for further distribution to the Iraqi security forces, U.S. officials said. “These vehicles are very important to the Iraqi National Police as well...

I was fortunate. I had both a pack of cigarettes AND a tasty beverage on my person to enjoy during the upcoming hour and a half stuck in the bunker as various high ranking folks combed the FOB to see if anybody had been hapless enough to get vaporized. Oh, and to make sure there were no unexploded surprises sputtering away in the middle of darkened roadways to disturb any late night treks to the loo. Actually, we were only in the 'sandbag sauna' for about 20 minutes--a new record in speedy Bomb Damage Assessment. So we were sitting in...

The charred pile of twisted metal outside the military Humvee manufacturing plant north of Cincinnati once carried five American soldiers through the mountains of Afghanistan. An exploding land mine lifted the 10,000-pound armored Humvee off the ground, ripped a chunk of metal off of the frame and caved in half of its front end. But the soldiers inside walked away, and that's why the wreckage sits on the grounds of the Ohio company that puts armor between America's enemies and America's soldiers. "The armor on that Humvee performed just as we would have hoped," said George Stringer, a vice president...

A MARINE AS SEEN BY . . . Himself:A handsome, buff, highly trained professional killer and female idol who carries a finely honed K-Bar, wears a crisp 8-point cammie cover and is always on time due to the absolute reliability of his Seiko digital watch. His Wife:A stinking, gross, foul mouthed lovable bum who arrives back at home every few months with a seabag full of dirty utilities, a huge Seiko watch, an oversized knife, a filthy hat and hornier then hell. Headquarters Marine Corps:A drunken, brawling, HMMWV-stealing, woman-corrupting "cumshaw artist" who wears a Seiko watch, an unauthorized K-Bar and...

Why is it taking so long to design, develop, produce, and deploy — in adequate numbers — a troop-transporting armored vehicle that would replace the up-armored Humvee in Iraq? I've been asked that question time and again, not by soldiers and Marines who ride in Humvees daily, but by fellow journalists, many of whom have logged time in Iraq or Afghanistan. One reporter said to me it was "criminal negligence" on the part of the White House and the Defense Department. Another referred to it as "the ultimate betrayal" of our soldiers. Despite their time in country, both reporters are...

Press Release Source: Armor Holdings, Inc. Armor Holdings, Inc. Receives Up-Armored HMMWV Order Valued at Approximately $32 Million Thursday February 10, 7:32 am ET JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Armor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AH - News), a leading manufacturer and distributor of security products and vehicle armor systems serving law enforcement, military, homeland security and commercial markets, announced today that it has received a new contract award to provide additional Up-Armored HMMWVs, both to the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force. Armor Holdings Aerospace & Defense Group has received a modification to its existing sole source contract...

January 5, 2005 'Never enough, you always want more' The Hill’s Jonathan Kaplan has spent the past 17 days in Iraq following the money Congress voted for reconstruction. In the first of several reports, he looks into the Humvee armor controversy. BAGHDAD — At the Camp Liberty chow hall exit, Army Sgt. Christopher Grant’s weekly cartoon, “Bohica Blues,” shows Santa Claus typing up Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s Christmas list. In the caption, Santa says Rumsfeld gets “An unarmored lump of coal. … ’Cause you celebrate Christmas with the presents you got, not the presents you want.” PATRICK G. RYAN...

Humvee history There has been much made about the controversy regarding the HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle - or Humvee) and its supposed lack of armor. The HMMWV was introduced into the Army in 1985 and was designed to be a light tactical vehicle and replace several outdated Army vehicles. Among these were the quarter-ton Jeep, M718A1 ambulance and other such vehicles. There were about 11 variants to the vehicle, but none was designed to be an armored "tank." Later, soldiers used them in ways that the original design didn't take into consideration. The always adaptable soldiers then made...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(March 4, 2004) -- Heavily armed humvees are in the Marine Corps' future — but will they come soon enough to help Marines in Operation Iraqi Freedom? If Maj. Gregory G. Frich has his way, they will. "Our intent is to make this mount available for OIF II as soon as possible," Frich, 1st Marine Division's ordnance officer, said about a prototype mount that allows attachment of several crew-served machine guns on vehicle doors. The idea for the mount was spawned during Operation Iraqi Freedom, when Marines riding through Iraqi towns in humvees at times...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 6, 2004) -- Despite the misconception of some members of Congress and the media who have raised the issue in recent weeks, the Army is meeting Central Command’s requirements for up-armored Humvees for operations in Iraq and doing it in a timely manner, according to Maj. Gen. N. Ross Thompson III, commanding general for the Army’s Tank-automotive and Armaments Command. Part of the misconception is not understanding who is responsible for identifying what resources are needed for an operation, and part, not understanding the nature of the operation has changed significantly since the buildup to...