Jeep Is Back In The Military World!

It has been said, and printed, that it was the JEEP that won WWII.  We know that it was a combination of things that actually won the war, and that if any one of those things were missing, we might not have won the war.  But, nonetheless, the JEEP played an integral part in victory.

With that being said, the vehicles used by US Armed Forces and NATO are, in their own right, very capable.  The design is much different than the JEEP (and so is the mission, and so is the threat, to be fair), now concentrating on protecting our troops from IEDs.

Since the JEEP, the US Army has seen use of Dodges (Korea),

(usaghumphreys/Flickr)

GM's CUCV (my era!),

the HMMWV (Humvee) (Still in use today)

And now, it looks like JEEP is coming back into the military world, officially, though maybe NOT for US Soldiers.

According to Defensetech.org, a Military.com website that keeps up with the latest military news and technology, Jankel has partnered with Chrysler (the maker of Jeep) to market vehicles to foreign armies (hopefully, our allies!!).  Their latest endeavor:  The Pegasus!

It's easy to determine the 'Jeep-ness' of the Pegasus:  the seven slots in the grill, with the unmistakable headlight configuration; the rounded hood with latches; the intimidation felt when your eyes first glimpse the vehicle (okay, I made that one up).

From www.defensetech.org:

Ghana and Uruguay have already bought variants of the Jeep J8 family of vehicles for UN missions.  Switzerland has started to test Jankel’s personnel and cargo carrier variant. Jeep J8 features six variants to include the light patrol and border patrol; personnel carrier; cargo and communications; military armored; ambulance; and pickup/chassis cab.

The vehicle have blast-limiting attenuation seats (identical to the seats in the MRAPs that our boys are driving in the Middle East), and comes with the 2.8L diesel engine.  I wish I could get one of those into my Jeep!!

No word yet on whether the US military will begin using Jeeps again.

Today, June 14, 2012, is Flag Day in the United States.  There are a few things that will always scream "AMERICA" to me;  Old Glory waving in the wind, the sight of an American Soldier being reunited with his/her family, the image of a father and son fishing, and, of course, the Jeep (just to name a few).

(Via Jankel, wikipedia, defensetech)