Humvee production keeps workers busy

By James Hannah
Associated Press

FAIRFIELD, Ohio — There is no shortage of work at the companies that turn out armored Humvees for the U.S. military.

Rusty Davis smoothes out rough edges as he installs an armored door on a Humvee at the O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt plant in Ohio. The basic vehicles are built in Indiana. Associated Press

The Army increased its order for armored Humvees in December and is expected to buy nearly four times as many as last year. So the workforce at the O'Gara-Hess plant has grown from 200 to 500, with 200 more workers expected to be hired soon. Production has jumped from 100 vehicles a month to 250, with plans to increase that to 325 by summer.

At AM General, production increased last month to 32 Humvees a day, up from 30. Its 600 employees are working overtime to fill the demand, and spokesman Craig MacNab said the plant can make more if necessary.

"We can make them a lot faster than O'Gara can armor them," he said.

Inside the southwest Ohio O'Gara-Hess plant, where American flags hang from the rafters, the 500 workers have organized into military-like teams of Alpha, Bravo and Charlie. Metalworkers notch holes and grooves into the Humvees, assemblers fasten the steel plates and install bulletproof glass, and painters transform the green exterior into a desert tan.

"The message is clear to them that we're in the war effort," said Gary Allen, senior vice president and general manager. "We have a highly motivated group."

Mike Heaberlin said he and his co-workers understand the importance of their jobs because, for U.S. troops, the armor added to the Humvees at the plant could mean the difference between life and death.

"We never stop thinking about them," said Heaberlin, a supervisor at the plant.

"Every time one goes out, I wonder who's going to be sitting in that."

Marine 1st Lt. Charles Benbow, 25, was on patrol in an armored Humvee in Afghanistan on Dec. 11 when the vehicle was hit by an improvised bomb. The explosion threw the gunner out of the turret and left Benbow with a bump on the head and a black eye, but neither was seriously injured.

Benbow told his father, Dr. John Benbow, a pediatrician in Concord, N.C., that the vehicle was "pretty well trashed," the elder Benbow said.

But "it probably saved his life and certainly saved him from serious injury," Dr. Benbow said.

The Humvee is a utility vehicle, designed to carry troops, equipment and wounded soldiers — and it hadn't been intended for combat zones. The armored Humvee was built initially as a scout vehicle that would be a potential target of enemy fire. It was later used by military police and security officers at battlefield checkpoints.

Each 5-ton Humvee costs $150,000 to produce — $80,000 for the vehicle; $70,000 for the armor.

AM General, a privately held company, has been making Humvees since 1985. O'Gara-Hess began armoring Humvees in 1994 and has turned out about 4,500 of them, most for the Army. The company is a subsidiary of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Armor Holdings.

Founded 130 years ago to make horse-drawn coaches, O'Gara-Hess built the first armored presidential car, for President Truman. The company makes armored cars for government agencies, heads of state and private individuals.

The company's back lot is an ocean of green, unarmored Humvees — called "soft-skins" — parked in lines.

Allen said his company can produce as many armored Humvees as needed.

"It's a matter of funding. If you want 1,000, tell me," he said. "You can't go to Wal-Mart and buy this."

U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio, wants the military to order more armored Humvees and get them to Iraq faster. He has written a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking why the Pentagon hasn't ordered production increased to maximum capacity.

"It's common sense to conclude that there have been unnecessary deaths and serious injuries because our soldiers have not been properly equipped," Strickland said. "I don't sense the urgency on the part of decision-makers to get this problem solved."

Maj. Gary Tallman, spokesman for the Army on weapons and technology issues, said that in the fiscal year beginning July 1, the Army has earmarked $168 million for 818 additional vehicles. The Army wants to have 4,400 armored Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan, up from the current 2,700.

"We can procure as fast as we have the money to do so," Tallman said.

Tallman said the Army has also purchased 8,000 armor kits that will enable soldiers to shield Humvees that are already in Iraq and Afghanistan.