LUCKY CANADIANS!

( I would love to pick one of these up on surplus )

The have armored G wagons with air and auto:

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Cruising in Kabul, Army style?

G-WAGON

G-WAGONCanadian troops in Kabul have taken delivery of 60 new Mercedes Benz G-Wagons and are already putting the vehicles to good use on patrols.

The first 60 of the 802 G-Wagons acquired by the Army to form part of its Light Utility Vehicle Wheeled fleet arrived in Afghanistan between March 5 and 13. Dedicated to operationally tasked field units?both Regular and Reserve Force?and training establishments, the G-Wagon will be used to provide tactical transport in the fields of command and control, liaison, reconnaissance and military police.

You only need to take one look at the new 4x4 to appreciate the sharp and rugged style of the G-Wagon. With its 2.7 litre, 5-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine, near a ton of plated armour and bulletproof glass, and almost a half-metre of ground clearance, it has nothing on your normal SUV.

G-WAGONThose who had the chance to test drive it on the 20 km trip from the Kabul airport to Camp Julien were unanimous: The G-Wagon is robust, drives smoothly and leave you with a confident feeling of security. It has many advantages over similar vehicles.

One of those advantages is the armour protection systems kit. Tailor designed so complete sections of the vehicle?such as doors and windshield?can be removed and replaced by armoured modules, it will provide NATO level 1 protection against small arms and protection against hand grenades and anti-personnel mines. Additional armoured components are included to protect the floor, roof and rear wall of the crew area.

A total of 802 G-Wagons and 160 armour protection systems are being supplied to the CF by Mercedes Benz Canada through the $130.4-million contract awarded in October 2003. In addition, 1 061 militarized commercial off-the-shelf (MILCOTS) Silverado (4x4) vehicles in three variants?basic, cable layers and military police?are being acquired from General Motors and will be distributed to both Regular and Reserve Force units across the country to replace the Iltis.

Beyond the 60 G-Wagons already received by troops deployed in Kabul, an additional 40 will be delivered to the CF shortly, and the remainder of the fleet will be fielded over the next several months to units in Canada.

Already, the vehicles are put to good use. They are cruising the streets of Kabul in lieu of some of the Iltis and LAV III,giving our personnel a distinct feeling of safety and a professional look.

G-WAGON TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS VARIANTS: 3 (basic, command and reconnaissance, military police) TYPE: 4 Pax Station Wagon ENGINE: 5-cylinders DRIVETRAIN: 4X4 permanent all-wheel drive, 5-speed automatic TIRES: Michelin XZL 8.25R16 with optional run-flat inserts. FORDING ABILITY: 600 mm GROUND CLEARANCE: 43.9 cm SIDE SLOPE ANGLE: 30º APPROACH ANGLE: 40º GRADEABILITY: 60 percent PAYLOAD: 1 500 kg max. (incl APS)

Reply to
greek_philosophizer
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Us Canucks are crazy, but I don't think our gov't is going to surplus brand new vehicles *smile*

THE ABOVE OPINIONS ARE MINE, AND MINE ALONE. THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS INCLUDING MY EMPLOYER(S)

Reply to
George Johnston

I can wait!

Sooner or later they will be surplused ( I would think ).

I guess though all the Army insiders will grab them before anybody else even hears about it.

I do not think Canadians are crazy either. Many Americans wish certain Canadian attributes were emulated.

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Reply to
greek_philosophizer

Hey, you'll have to wait. Our gov't runs military equipment way past it's prime. One example was our old Long Range Patrol aircraft, the Argus. They had one in Greenwood, Nova Scotia that had the equivalent of

1 1/2 yrs. of flying time! Came into service in '58 and were replaced 5 or 6 years ago.

The Iltis, which is being replaced by the G came into service in the early

70's (I think). Don't even think about getting me started on the used subs we bought from the Brits.

Did you know that we rank second on our committement to NATO? Only country that has a smaller commitement is Lictenstein!

Well we're not gun crazy, but don't know about the rest!

Merry xmas from a crazy canuck *smile*

THE ABOVE OPINIONS ARE MINE, AND MINE ALONE. THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE OPINIONS OF OTHERS INCLUDING MY EMPLOYER(S)

Reply to
George Johnston

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