<p>John Hinkle jumped at the opportunity to make armor plating for the Marine Humvees and trucks exposed to bullets and roadside bombs in Iraq.</p><p>Now, he and the other workers at the Marine Corps' Albany Maintenance Center are learning the extra effort is saving lives.</p><p>"Anything we can do to save Marine lives is important," said Hinkle, a technician who volunteered to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week for about a month to design and manufacture armor for Marine vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p><p>The Humvee kits consist of bulletproof steel doors that replace the regular fabric doors. Only a Marine's eyes and Kevlar helmet are visible above the doors.</p><p>Trucks and some versions of the Humvee that carry troops in rear compartments get steel plates on each side to protect the occupants. The 1/4-inch steel doors and plates withstand rifle bullets and shrapnel.</p><p>Within weeks after the center received the request in late February, the armor kits were designed, manufactured and delivered to Marines in Kuwait. They installed them before heading into Iraq.</p><p>"What was good about our design was that you could put it on quickly," said Chief Warrant Officer Eric Gilmer, the center's maintenance liaison officer who traveled to Kuwait to assist. The kits come with tools and instructions so that anyone from cooks to clerks can install them without any special training.</p><p>The armor was part of a safety package that also included reinforced windshield glass.</p><p>Now the center is getting positive feedback and thanks in e-mails from Marines who have seen the effectiveness of the armor and glass.</p><p>One said his convoy was attacked on March 11 by small arms fire and four Improvised Explosive Devices made from mortar and artillery rounds.</p><p>"I was inside the blast radius on the first one, but no scratches," he said. "I pulled golf-ball size pieces of shrapnel out of the windshield that were stuck in it, but did not penetrate. Death came knocking at our door that day, but we denied him access. All of you need to be aware that the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force has up-armored all of its vehicles and it works."</p><p>Ninety Albany workers volunteered for the project, but only 70 were needed. Using 1 million pounds of armored plating, they cut 7,898 panels, assembled the kits with nuts and bolts and machined parts. They also painted everything.</p><p>The center shipped 1,837 kits to Marines bound for Iraq, 66 to Navy Seabees who would support them and 247 kits to Marines in Afghanistan, said Gary McAllister, the center's project manager.</p><p>With 770 civilian workers and five Marines, the Albany maintenance center routinely rebuild much of the equipment used by Marines in the field, from M-16 rifles to radios to amphibious landing craft and tanks. The Corps has a similar center in Barstow, Calif.</p><p>Col. Peter T. Underwood, commander of the Albany center, said workers were able to maintain normal production while also devoting a sizable effort to the urgent armor project.</p><p>Trent Blalock, the deputy commander, said he never doubted that the workers would meet the deadline.</p><p>"We have a history of proving that when the call comes in the 11th hour, that we can provide the products and services needed by the Marine Corps," he said.</p><p>Other U.S. troops in Iraq have installed armor supplied by other sources on their vehicles, but the kits from Albany seem to be the armor of choice, Underwood said.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x2865430)</p>
