There were some interesting vehicles at the military exhibition I visited last week, similar to what you see in the movies. Maybe some of you have seen such in the city where you live, but looking inside or trying them out is always off limits to most of us. Those vehicles that are actively used by the military will never be available to civilians. This is why I spent more time around them, took a bunch of photos, to be able to show you what was available. I got a lot of comments on my previous posts, which confirms my suspicion that many of you have not seen such military equipment before and chances to see these from close may be slim. If you've missed my previous posts, you can check them out here and here.
Most likely the most known army vehicle of this size is the Humvee (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), so that could not be missing from the exhibition.
You could try it out without hesitation and kids were happy to do so. I had to wait to get a good shot.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam War-era M151 jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, and other light trucks. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations. source
There are several variants but don't ask me which one was this as I have no idea.
Here's a different one, for 5 people.
The first Humvee was pretty empty inside, but not this one. You could have a look inside, even sit in it if you wanted and could try to imagine how it feels to drive one. As you can see this was equipped with all it is needed during special operations.
Don't look for comfort in these vehicles as there's no such thing here. These are not limousines and have been designed to serve a certain purpose.
Here's a Chevrolet, a less obvious one, if you don't count the cargo on the top. You would not say it's an army vehicle.
The front of the car looks like a regular car, nothing special there.
The back on the other hand ... If you've ever wondered how such a vehicle looks like from inside, here it is. On the back, there's a command post 🙈. I'm walking on thin ice here as have no clue what's the correct definition here, most likely not what I used, but you understand what I mean. I was looking at this mobile office and was imagining myself struggling there to do the job (collect data and pass it forward). Unfortunately I am often car sick which I can control to some extent, but when you're flying low (driving with high speed) with this vehicle, while shots are fired at you, there's no room for being fussy or sick. This condition annoys me a lot, but there's not much I can do about it. Good thing I'm not in the army. Would not last for 10 minutes.
A Toyota Vos Pat, equipped for more serious situations. The dog you see on the photo was a civilian, a very friendly and cute one. The officer could not resist temptation and had a chat with the dog. The scene was so cute. I had no luck to meet service dogs, but I heard there were two present the next day and their behavior was exemplary. They are trained well for their mission.
This is a Toyota Vos Pat from France, used for special patrol operations. Weights 4500kg, equipped with communication systems compatible with compatible with NATO standards (said the paper glued to the car).
I talked to the officer and he told me those green boxer are for ammunition and the metal thing you see under the boxes, a bit lower, with two handles is the tool for breaking down doors. That is much needed as you never know what obstacles you meet in your way.
There was a boat too, necessary for some of the operations on water.
I cropped the photo for you to see what the seats and the steering wheel part looked like.
So these were some of the smaller vehicles I saw at the exhibition last week. The heavy stuff is yet to come, so buckle up. If you have an eye for details, you can learn a lot from these photos.
Oh, I almost forgot. I met camouflage man too, he was standing next to the vehicles, posing for selfies. I did not take a selfie with him, but here's his photo :) Have you ever seen such a costume? Would you spot him in the woods? I bet you wouldn't and that's exactly the point. They are trained to be invisible.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
