thedrifter
06-06-07, 06:48 AM
DESPERATELY SEEKING AMERICA
'We're saving lives,' say armored-vehicle makers
By Susan White
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 6, 2007
As we've traveled across the United States for the past three weeks, one thing has become clear: People are frustrated with the war in Iraq, and what frustrates them most – whether they support the war or oppose it – is their powerlessness to do anything about it.
But in Ladson, S.C., we met one man – retired Marine Col. Wayne Phillips – who doesn't fit that category.
Phillips works for Force Protection, one of eight companies building the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles the Marines and Army are suddenly ordering in large quantities. The heavily armored vehicles have v-shaped bottoms that make them far safer than the vehicles most of the troops are riding in now. They can withstand the improvised explosive devices that have killed so many troops. And they offer more protection against the enemy's newest weapon of choice, the explosively formed penetrator.
“We're saving lives, and I'm a tiny portion of that,” Phillips said as he walked us through the old General Electric plant in Ladson, where Force Protection has set up its manufacturing operation. “It makes you feel you're doing something important.”
When the United States was fighting World War II, Americans were asked to conserve gasoline, buy War Bonds, work in defense plants, plant Victory Gardens, make bandages, greet troops at USO clubs and wear their tires down to the cord to save precious rubber.
Today, after years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the only civilians being asked to make personal sacrifices are those whose family members are serving in the military. The rest of us continue to shop and live our lives as usual. What else are we supposed to do?
That's where workers at Force Protection and other companies producing items essential to the troops have an edge over the rest of us. As Phillips kept saying as we walked through the vast – 500,000 square feet – manufacturing area, “the best thing about working here is that we are saving lives.”
A gigantic U.S. flag stretches about three stories tall above one of the manufacturing bays, where huge cranes lift the various parts into place.
The company Web site features testimonials from troops describing how the vehicles saved them. A Marine stopped by last winter to express his gratitude in person, and work was stopped so everyone could listen.
About a year ago, Force Protection had 350 employees and was building at most 12 vehicles a month. Today, it has almost 1,000 employees and is producing 100 vehicles a month.
Every time the company gets a new contract, it ramps up again. Phillips said they think they can increase production to 400 or 500 a month with three shifts of workers. The company's executives, many of whom work on folding tables crammed side by side into a nondescript room, are already working 60 to 80 hours a week.
Force Protection has been listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange since Jan. 18 and is clearly prospering. But Vaughn Williams, senior director of manufacturing, said the goal is more than making money.
“This is a war, and we've got to protect our troops as fast as we can,” he said. “We're doing it for the right reasons. We would work more if we could physically do it.”
As part of our tour, Phillips, vice president of business development, invited us to climb into the Buffalo.
It weighs 23 tons and has tires so big that they reach almost to my shoulder. The seats were wrapped neatly in plastic, and it still had that clean, new-car smell.
As we were leaving, Phillips, who is in his mid-50s, mentioned that his son is in the Navy and that some of the Marines he once commanded are fighting in Iraq. He'd like to be with them, he said. But at least he is doing this, which is something.
Ellie
'We're saving lives,' say armored-vehicle makers
By Susan White
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 6, 2007
As we've traveled across the United States for the past three weeks, one thing has become clear: People are frustrated with the war in Iraq, and what frustrates them most – whether they support the war or oppose it – is their powerlessness to do anything about it.
But in Ladson, S.C., we met one man – retired Marine Col. Wayne Phillips – who doesn't fit that category.
Phillips works for Force Protection, one of eight companies building the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles the Marines and Army are suddenly ordering in large quantities. The heavily armored vehicles have v-shaped bottoms that make them far safer than the vehicles most of the troops are riding in now. They can withstand the improvised explosive devices that have killed so many troops. And they offer more protection against the enemy's newest weapon of choice, the explosively formed penetrator.
“We're saving lives, and I'm a tiny portion of that,” Phillips said as he walked us through the old General Electric plant in Ladson, where Force Protection has set up its manufacturing operation. “It makes you feel you're doing something important.”
When the United States was fighting World War II, Americans were asked to conserve gasoline, buy War Bonds, work in defense plants, plant Victory Gardens, make bandages, greet troops at USO clubs and wear their tires down to the cord to save precious rubber.
Today, after years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the only civilians being asked to make personal sacrifices are those whose family members are serving in the military. The rest of us continue to shop and live our lives as usual. What else are we supposed to do?
That's where workers at Force Protection and other companies producing items essential to the troops have an edge over the rest of us. As Phillips kept saying as we walked through the vast – 500,000 square feet – manufacturing area, “the best thing about working here is that we are saving lives.”
A gigantic U.S. flag stretches about three stories tall above one of the manufacturing bays, where huge cranes lift the various parts into place.
The company Web site features testimonials from troops describing how the vehicles saved them. A Marine stopped by last winter to express his gratitude in person, and work was stopped so everyone could listen.
About a year ago, Force Protection had 350 employees and was building at most 12 vehicles a month. Today, it has almost 1,000 employees and is producing 100 vehicles a month.
Every time the company gets a new contract, it ramps up again. Phillips said they think they can increase production to 400 or 500 a month with three shifts of workers. The company's executives, many of whom work on folding tables crammed side by side into a nondescript room, are already working 60 to 80 hours a week.
Force Protection has been listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange since Jan. 18 and is clearly prospering. But Vaughn Williams, senior director of manufacturing, said the goal is more than making money.
“This is a war, and we've got to protect our troops as fast as we can,” he said. “We're doing it for the right reasons. We would work more if we could physically do it.”
As part of our tour, Phillips, vice president of business development, invited us to climb into the Buffalo.
It weighs 23 tons and has tires so big that they reach almost to my shoulder. The seats were wrapped neatly in plastic, and it still had that clean, new-car smell.
As we were leaving, Phillips, who is in his mid-50s, mentioned that his son is in the Navy and that some of the Marines he once commanded are fighting in Iraq. He'd like to be with them, he said. But at least he is doing this, which is something.
Ellie