Good News Against IED'S: The Rock!

[Annie]

http://corner.nationalreview.com/05_11_20_corner-archive.asp#083258

"THE ROCK" SURVIVES IED BLAST [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]
I've just learned that during an operation near Baghdad, this morning, one of our armored vehicles - a brand new one unofficially referred to as "The Rock" - was hit by an IED. The vehicle sustained no major damage, and - best of all - ZERO injuries were suffered by passengers or crew.

I first reported on "The Rock" earlier this month at NavySEALs.com and elsewhere. It is being manufactured by Kuwait-based Granite Global Services which was founded in the spring of 2004 by SEAL Reservist Chris Berman, then-working for Blackwater Security. Berman started the company after four of his Blackwater buddies were ambushed and killed in Fallajuh. After escorting all four bodies home, Berman decided to build a heavily armored, ultra-fast (the thing can cruise at 80 mph), gun-bristling, urban-warfare vehicle that would save passenger lives in combat. His first truck rolled off the line in June. It's been shot at a lot, but no ball-round ammunition can penetrate its armor. Today it was hit by an IED for the first time, and Berman emailed me saying, "I must brag when it is this good."