{"id":4736,"date":"2020-03-31T03:21:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T01:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/?p=4736"},"modified":"2021-10-17T16:54:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T14:54:34","slug":"rafiks-journey-silent-heroes-oshkosh-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alluringcreations.co.za\/wp\/rafiks-journey-silent-heroes-oshkosh-vehicle\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafik’s Journey in Silent Heroes. An Oshkosh Vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rafik, the youngest character in Silent Heroes, When Love and Values Are Worth Fighting for<\/a>, undergoes a rather explosive journey in an Oshkosh vehicle belonging to the US Marines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The U.S. military has withdrawn entirely from Afghanistan after almost 20 years of operations in the country. Amongst the weapons and equipment destroyed, but left behind, are 27 Humvee vehicles. <\/em>(31st of August 2021 update)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I hope you followed his footsteps thus far, from his home village of Nauzad<\/a>, in the Helmand province of Afghanistan all the way to Camp Bastion<\/a>, and through the Afghan desert<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past – a journey of heroes in the pre-Oshkosh vehicle era<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How interesting it was researching the vehicles used by the US Marines in Afghanistan! We are all familiar with the classical WWII<\/a> image of a US soldier in a jeep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"US<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the need for an improved army vehicle dating back to the 1970s, it was in 1989 that new and improved combat vehicles, the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV – colloquial: Humvee<\/strong>) were first used and soon replaced all tactical vehicles. The Humvee first gained national fame during the First Gulf War<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After 9\/11<\/strong><\/a>, when US troops were deployed in Afghanistan<\/a>, the Humvee proved perfect on the non-existing roads and rough mountainous terrain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Humvee has been in use for 30 years. It was praised by soldiers for its off road capabilities and became so popular that even a civilian version was created, “I’ll take one in red.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The civilian model Humvee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Humvee was much liked by the soldiers in the “pre-IED” (Improvised Explosive Device) era. The soldiers would “customize” it by removing unnecessary armor and even doors, making the Humvee more maneuverable and increasing their visibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Came Iraq War, the use of IEDs and car bombs – and the Humvee’s popularity decreased. Its new armored doors weighed hundreds of pounds and were hard to open and additional armor to the turret decreased its road stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new vehicle for the US Army: the Oshkosh <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Oshkosh M-ATV<\/strong> is the new a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle used by the US Army and the US Marines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are high chances that you have seen the Oshkosh before and its interior – on which info and images are hard to find as are classified. The Oshkosh was the guest star on Iron Man<\/em>, alongside Robert Downey Jr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n