Heavily-armored DHS vehicles seen on roads across the country.
What could they need equipment like this for here in the US? They are hitting the road! Caravans of National Guard equipment but with new never-before-seen equipment in the caravans. Take a close look at what is painted on the side of the black Humvees.
The Humvees are fully armored — the same standard used by our military.
They are gearing up and now have enforcement vehicles and are training with the National Guard, FEMA and police.
This armored caravan includes the mammoth GLS vehicle, the largest vehicle on the trailer.
You don’t get anymore armored than the GLS, a serious piece of equipment that has never been used inside the United States until now.
Reportedly, DHS has 2,500 of these monsters.
The difference between this military vehicle and previous ones trotted out by the Ministry of Homeland Security is that the words “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “Police/Rescue” are missing.
The new DHS sanctioned ‘Street Sweeper’ (my own slang due to the gun ports) is built by Navistar Defense (NavistarDefense.com), a division within the Navistar organization. Under the Navistar umbrella are several other companies including International Trucks, IC Bus (they make school buses), Monaco RV (recreational vehicles), WorkHorse (they make chassis), MaxxForce (diesel engines), and Navistar Financial (the money arm of the company).
http://www.navistardefense.com/navistarDefense/
Navistar’s MaxxPro: 1st Place in MRAP Orders.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/more-mraps-1200-maxxpro-mpvs-from-navistar-03344/
From Navistar Defense: The International® MaxxPro® is Navistar Defense’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle and incorporates the latest design in armoring technology. Extensively tested by the military and used in theater today, the MaxxPro features a V-shaped hull and other design features that greatly improve survivability. With so much protection, it’s the vehicle that every 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 deflect blasts out and away from the crew and its armoring can be customized to meet any mission requirement. The installation contract retrofits 2,717 vintage MaxxPro vehicles (work performed in West Point, Mississippi) with a new rolling chassis. This chassis enhancement included the addition of the DXM™ independent suspension, a MaxxForce® 9.3 engine, and a 570 amp alternator and driveline. The work was completed at the end of May 2012.
Apparently, the pretense of a military response to armed illegal immigrants with RPGs is no longer required.
Over the last few months, the DHS has purchased millions of rounds of ammunition and an array of state-of-the-art weapons. As Mike Adams notes, the 450 million rounds of ammo purchased by the DHS is enough to wage more than 6 years of Iraq-level combat.
The DHS was established after the attacks of September 11, 2001, ostensibly to protect the homeland from terrorist attacks and as a cabinet-level bureaucracy that responds to man-made accidents and natural disasters.
Unless the government is expecting al-Qaeda to invade, there is little reason for the existence of this sort of vehicle and the stockpiling of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition. The only logical conclusion here is that the feds are expecting the American people to revolt.
The DHS arsenal is obviously a response to the fact almost half of more than 300 million Americans own guns and a sizable number will resist any attempt by government to confiscate them.
As we reported last month, a new study funded by the Department of Homeland Security characterizes Americans who are “suspicious of centralized federal authority,” and “reverent of individual liberty” as “extreme right-wing” terrorists. The DHS earlier produced a report that conflates these “rightwing extremists” with white supremacists and others who are supposedly recruiting returning veterans.
http://fromthetrenchesworldreport.com/heavily-armored-dhs-vehicles-seen-on-road/21894/
http://whatthegovernmentcantdoforyou.com/2012/09/21/freedom/homeland-security/heavily-armored-dhs-vehicles-seen-on-road-as-ministry-of-homeland-security-rolls-out-armored-vehicles/
http://www.pakalertpress.com/2012/09/07/dhs-ramps-up-to-subdue-and-kill-americans/
More information about armored vehicle makers:
Three very different teams are contending to build the Humvee's replacement, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. AOL Defense weighs their strengths and weaknesses.
Last week, the Army and Marines slashed a crowded field of competitors in half, awarding contracts for "engineering and manufacturing development" of JLTV prototypes to aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, truck maker Oshkosh, and Humvee manufacturer AM General. The choices surprised many observers because only one of the three, Lockheed, had won in the previous round, in 2008, when the military awarded three "technology development" contracts. A major restructuring of the program last year had rendered many of the original criteria irrelevant, because -- facing a cancellation threat from the Senate Appropriations Committee -- the Army and Marines had trimmed back their ambitions for the new vehicle to contain spiralling costs.
Rejected were bids from BAE and General Dynamics -- which had both won technology development contracts -- and Navistar. (A different unit of BAE is working on Lockheed's bid, however). Interestingly the three losers could still enter the competition because nothing prohibits them from developing JLTV designs at their own expense and offering them in the final competition for the actual production run, something Navistar has already said it "will seriously consider."
The three EMD winners' vehicles all meet the same requirements and look roughly the same, but the companies behind them have distinctly different strengths and strategies. Even the amounts they were awarded last week are not identical. Lockheed got the most, Oshkosh almost $10 million less, but, given the intense focus by both the Pentagon and Congress on affordability, Lockheed's getting more may end up being less a vote of confidence than a target painted on its back.
http://defense.aol.com/2012/08/27/jltv-strategies-compared-lockheed-vs-oshkosh-vs-am-general/