More than 2/3 of the Humvees the US supplied to Iraq have ended up in the hands of ISIL

[n2doc]

More than two-thirds of the Humvees the US supplied to Iraq to fight terrorists have ended up in the hands of Islamic State militants.

And the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh, has not wasted any time in converting those vehicles into one of its deadliest and most nightmarish tools: suicide car bombs.

According to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, ISIS controls about 2,300 armored US Humvees. Most of those vehicles were seized after ISIS overran Mosul in June 2014.

In addition to being used in further attacks against Iraqi forces, these vehicles were sent over the border to Syria to help ISIS solidify its foothold there.

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http://finance.yahoo.com/news/isis-turning-us-humvees-iraqs-153100091.html

[Wilms]

1. Should have put Lo-Jack in those things.

[JonLP24]

4. The irony with that is one key works on all the Humvees

Same thing with the common military vehicles

[Duckhunter935]

8. they do not have a key

most if not all military vehicles do not use a key. They can be locked by a padlock. Hummvees have a cable to lock the steering wheel with a padlock.

CUCV's were the exception, still have one of those keys.

[JonLP24]

12. I forgot how we turned them on in then

I was licensed but I rarely ever drove one so I'm probably misremembering because one key definitely works on all the M915A2s but I haven't driven much of anything else but the M915A2 I've driven close to 20,000 miles.

We always locked the uparmored door with pad locks because one key could open the door and start the engine. Can't remember the reason but remember we were unable so me and my co-driver took a chance and just locked with the key while went inside the DFAC in Taji. When we came out the truck was gone in the parking lot and we were freaking out badly, finally we went back to the tents and reported this and the Sergeant was losing his mind. "How do you lose a (M915A2)? It isn't something that can fit in your pocket? The convoy commander (who was my squad leader at-the-time) noticed the missing lock so drove it away to teach us a lesson but I was so relieved.

[Duckhunter935]

14. they just have a switch

turn to position 1 and wait for the glow plug light to go out, then turn to start and release. I know all of the jeeps, M35s and M52s I drove had a push or floor button start.

[JonLP24]

16. I remember the lights now

I was figuring it was switch but definitely remember the light now. M915A2 the same key opens the door and starts the ignition which is odd after your post I was remembering switches. The 5-tons and deuce and a halfs use the switch too? That and the truck with the window on the floor, plus the humvee were the only military vehicles I drove but the M915A2 was what our unit drove (I was in transportation -- "nothing happens until something moves".

[Duckhunter935]

17. where the 915s based on a commercial truck?

Same as the other ones I know of. They used a single key as that is how the commercial trucks were started.

[JonLP24]

18. Freightliner

Our unit was in Ft. Lewis. The only long haul training trips were to the Freightliner plant in Portland which is where the trucks are manufactured straight down I-5 or the "Cascade Loop" to Yakima which scared the hell out of me driving.

[Duckhunter935]

19. Easier

To just use the commercial parts that are already there. Since they already have the ignition start harness in place. Just use a standard key.

[Duckhunter935]

15. our motor sergeant

recovered a few vehicles including HUMVEES from other units and parted them out.

[Raster]

2. Who could have seen something like this coming, eh?

[JonLP24]

3. I've seen clips of ISIS rolling around in US tanks

anti-aircraft guns.

[dembotoz]

5. well maybe faulty airbags will get em

[malthaussen]

6. eh, lousy fuel economy on those things. n/t

[JonLP24]

13. Very lousy

It was common to stop the convoy so the gun trucks can refuel with the cans.

[Martin Eden]

7. The most likely lesson that will be learned from this:

Ramp up production for more Humvees, there is profit to be made!

[gratuitous]

9. We keep pouring gasoline on this fire, and it just keeps getting bigger

The solution is, obviously, to pour more military hardware into the region.

Luckily for folks like Lindsey Graham, nobody in the popular media has the brains to see the problem, so he can keep going on the talking chucklehead shows and say the most bone-stupid things, and none of the millionaires interviewing him betray the least sense that they're having a word with a raving lunatic.

[Bigmack]

10. Want to buy some Iraqi "Army" rifles....?

Never been fired and only dropped once!

[bluedigger]

11. There should be strong demand for spare parts.

Have we got a salesman on that?