Latest Homeland Security Armored Vehicle September 6, 2012 By: Ken Jorgustin The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. ArmyForces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these ‘Mine Resistant Protected’vehicles for service on the streets of the United States. Although I’ve seen and read several online blurbs about thisvehicle of late, I decided to dig slightly deeper and discover more about thevehicle itself. The new DHS sanctioned ‘Street Sweeper’ (my own slang due tothe gun ports) is built by Navistar Defense (NavistarDefense.com), a divisionwithin the Navistar organization. Under the Navistar umbrella are several othercompanies including International Trucks, IC Bus (they make school buses),Monaco RV (recreational vehicles), Work Horse (they make chassis), Maxx Force(diesel engines), and Navistar Financial (the money arm of the company). From Navistar Defense: The International® MaxxPro® is Navistar Defense’s MineResistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and incorporates the latest design inarmoring technology. Extensively tested by the military and used in theatertoday, the MaxxPro features a V-shaped hull and other design features thatgreatly improve survivability. With so much protection, it’s the vehicle thatevery crew wants when they’re out in the field. MaxxPro® MRAP specifications: Length: 254″ (21.2 feet) Width: 102″ (8.5 feet) Height: 120″ (10 feet) Wheel base: 153″ (12.8 feet) Curb weight: 37,850 lbs. (18.9 tons) Engine: MaxxForce® 9.3 The MaxxPro MRAP is built to withstand ballistic arms fire,mine blasts, IEDs, and other emerging threats. Its V-shaped hull helps deflectblasts out and away from the crew and its armoring can be customized to meetany mission requirement. The installation contract retrofits 2,717 vintage MaxxProvehicles (work performed in West Point, Mississippi) with a new rollingchassis. This chassis enhancement included the addition of the DXM™ independentsuspension, a MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, and a 570 amp alternator and driveline.The work was completed at the end of May 2012. Observations and Questions: Why would DHS need such over-the-top vehicles on U.S.streets to withstand IEDs and mine blasts? There are rails along the perimeter windows/gun ports tohelp displace the impact of RPG rounds… seems a bit much for a Police/Rescuevehicle… They all have gun ports… Rescue vehicle? Seriously, why would DHS need such a vehicle on our streets?What are they expecting or preparing for? It is a ridiculous over-the-topdisplay of force that is meant to intimidate and associate the DHS name andlogo with ‘FEAR’. Just like all that’s happening with the TSA (under the wingof DHS), this is about normalization of a new way of American life. By the way, you’re the one who paid for these. Or bettersaid… your grand-kids will pay for these since we are living on a negativebalance sheet with a 16 Trillion dollar deficit. I am curious to know if any of our MSB readers have seen anyof these vehicles? Send photos and encounters if you have them… George Washington once said, “Government is not reason, itis not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearfulmaster. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” Update: One reader has suggested that the DHS vehicles arenot Navistar MaxxPro, but Golan (Israeli made) armored vehicles, while anotherreader who apparently has worked for Navistar confirms that this vehicle isindeed made by Navistar. There have been numerous reports on this storyswirling within the blogosphere with varying claims of make and model. Whilethis new information may or may not be accurate, I still question the need forthese types of military armored vehicles riding on the ‘free’ streets ofAmerica, regardless of who makes them Existing Reset Line Available to ServiceVehicles Returning from Deployment LISLE, Ill., March 15, 2012 Navistar Defense, LLC receivedan award to conduct the installation work associated with its January order toupgrade 2,717 International® MaxxPro® Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP)vehicles with a new vehicle chassis. source: http://www.defenseprocurementnews.com These mods are for the “vehicle reset line”, meaning, forthose that are or have apparently come home from overseas. Where are theyexactly being deployed? It is difficult to say, because they have not exactlysaid. There are pictures out there with Homeland Security printed on the sidesof these vehicles. There are reports that some of them are being purposed forBorder Patrol. There are personal accounts of seeing the vehicles elsewhere.The DoD and DHS have an apparent working relationship, and these returningMRAP’s are apparently being re-purposed here on American streets. On the onehand it sounds frugal, on the other it sounds unnecessary (with exception toborder patrol IMHO). One could argue that we might simply mothball them untilsuch time they’re needed again (although understandably, decay would set in –it’s cost versus reward). NAVISTAR DEFENSE RECEIVES MRAP INSTALLATION ORDER “We are focused on increasing the capabilities of ourexisting fleet with minimal impact to defense funding,” said Archie Massicotte,president, Navistar Defense. “The vehicle reset line we established for thisinstallation work can also be utilized to restore older vehicles to like-newcondition. Therefore, we are poised and ready to reset vehicles returning fromdeployment…” The installation contract retrofits vintage MaxxPro vehicleswith a new rolling chassis. This chassis enhancement includes the addition ofthe DXM™ independent suspension, a MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, 570 amp alternatorand driveline, while leaving a residual chassis with a beam axle that can bereused. The retrofits will be conducted in West Point, Miss., and work isexpected to be completed by the end of May 2012. The company has fielded nearly 9,000 MaxxPro vehicles andcontinues to anticipate needed vehicle capabilities, enhancements, reset andreuse options for its entire fleet of 32,000 vehicles. Source: Navistar Defense, LLC (March 15, 2012 archives) The DHS and DoD report up the Executive branch to theCommander in Chief. The DoD / military is primarily limited to overseas actionsdue to the Posse Comitatus Act, while the new DHS (thanks to the Patriot Actafter 9/11) is intended for operations on U.S. soil. The DHS is seeminglybecoming the ‘legalized’ military here at home… and one could argue that it maybe circumventing the Posse Comitatus Act to some degree.
From: The Patriot Nation Tell me something, how many minefields have you seen in America? People had better pull their heads out of the clouds and start paying attention to what's going on around them. There is no logical reason for the DHS to have over 2,000 of these vehicles, except to squash a citizen uprising when the economy crashes. What's my theory? Obama has to create enough chaos before the 2016 election, so that he can start enough civil unrest to declare martial law and suspend the election. His goal is to become supreme dictator with no one stopping him. Every day a step closer. ... Go ahead and laugh at my theory but you can be sure there won't be anything to laugh about it when all hell breaks loose in America, and it's coming much sooner than many care to believe. -M.D.
Why Is Obama's Growing DHS Army Buying Armored Vehicles? Security: In addition to stockpiling over a billion bullets and thousands of semiautomatic weapons the feds would deny U.S. citizens, the vehicle of choice for fighting the counterinsurgency war in Iraq is appearing on U.S. streets. The sequestration question du jour is why the Department of Homeland Security, busy releasing hundreds, if not thousands, of deportable and detained illegal aliens due to budget constraints, is buying several thousand Mine Resistant Armored Protection (MRAP) vehicles? And just who are they intended to be used against? This acquisition comes on top of the recent news of the stockpiling by DHS of more than 1.6 billion (with a 'b') bullets of various calibers, enough by one calculation to fight the equivalent of a 24-year Iraq War, and the ordering of some 7,000 5.56x45mm NATO "personal defense weapons" (PDW) — also known as "assault weapons" when owned by civilians. Additionally, DHS is asking for 30 round magazines that "have a capacity to hold thirty (30) 5.56x45mm NATO rounds." The Department of Homeland Security (through the U.S. Army Forces Command) recently retrofitted 2,717 of these MRAP vehicles for service on the streets of the U.S. They were formerly used for counterinsurgency in Iraq. These vehicles are specifically designed to resist mines and ambush attacks. They use bulletproof windows and are designed to withstand small-arms fire, including smaller-caliber rifles such as a .223 Remington. Does DHS expect a counterinsurgency here? After IEDs began to take a toll on U.S. military forces in Iraq, the Pentagon ordered a large supply of MRAPs. "They've taken hits, many, many hits that would have killed soldiers and marines in uparmored Humvees," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a recent interview. A DHS officer, Robert Whitaker, stationed in El Paso, Texas, recently proudly described the agency's new armored toy as "Mine-resistant ... we use to deliver our team to high-risk warrant services ... (with) gun ports so we can actually shoot from within the vehicle; you may think it's pretty loud but actually it's not too bad ... we have gun ports there in the back and two on the sides as well. They are designed for .50-caliber weapons." This is needed to serve warrants? Perhaps it might have been useful at Waco. So the question is what does DHS need 1.6 billion bullets, 7,000 Ar-15s and 2,700 armored vehicles for? What are they anticipating or planning for, and why are few in the media and Congress asking about it, particularly in the light of daily apocalyptic bleats from the administration about sequestration cuts? We have asked if this has anything to do with then-candidate Obama's proposal for a national security force as powerful as the U.S. Army. In a July 2, 2008, speech in Colorado Springs, Colo., candidate Obama said: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." As Judge Andrew Napolitano, a Fox News contributor, recently opined in the Washington Times, "The historical reality of the Second Amendment's protection of the right to keep and bear arms is not that it protects the right to shoot deer. It protects the right to shoot tyrants, and it protects the right to shoot at them effectively, with the same instruments they would use upon us." No, we are not scanning the sky for black helicopters. But we are concerned about an administration pushing for ever stricter gun control and de facto gun registration in the form of allegedly universal background checks to which criminals and gangbangers won't comply is arming itself to the teeth. If weapons of war don't belong on the street, Mr. President, explain these purchases.
