Lots of promise—never realized

I remember when the unit I commanded received our first Humvees in the late-1980s, and how excited we were. They could go almost anywhere and had much more utility than the vehicles they replaced. Then, along came IEDs.

I just read where top commanders in Afghanistan are further restricting the use of Humvees because of their vulnerability. A 2008 Army Inspector General's report found all sorts of design flaws against present day threats, such as flat bottom, low weight, low ground clearance, and the composition of the body. Not a good thing when you're dealing with buried IEDs. For having so much promise, the vehicle never achieved the success expected. But then, who could have predicted the type threat we have today.