Abstract
Serving as the Executive Officer for Bravo Co., 1-115th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, former Captain Nathan Harlan was on a tour of duty in Iraq when his convoy met an IED. He retells his story and reflects on the HUMVEE’s ability to absorb the blast, halting what could have been a fatal and all too common style of ambush.
My HUMVEE Story | by Captain Nathan Harlan
There I was, Saba Al Boor, Iraq, Sept 4th, 2005, in a convoy at the end of a long reconnaissance mission. An IED went off on the right side of my HUMVEE just to the right, directly next to the right rear door. The blast rocked the vehicle, shattered most of the ballistic glass, and filled it with dirt.
When the dust cleared, I could see the right rear door was caved in about 2 or 3 inches, but held on. We all came out of it alive with one wounded in the back seat, but he was able to recover.
I have no doubt that the HUMVEE saved our lives.
– Captain Nathan Harlan
Someone told me once, if you buy a car, make sure it was built on a Tuesday. The quality of the build is usually better because it’s not the first day after a busy weekend, it’s not hump day, and the workers aren’t looking towards the weekend yet.
The second half of my first deployment in Iraq my M1114 was flawless. It never broke down. We were running convoy ops from Al Asad all over western Iraq. We put over 30,000 miles on our HUMVEE and ran 150+ combat missions without a single breakdown. Miles and miles up and down route Silver, Uranium, and Mobile. I never had a failure. I think she was built on a Tuesday. The reliability was true testament to the people who built her.
I am fortunate that I have interacted with AM General employees because I live just down the road from where my lifesaving HUMVEE was built. I have thanked them every time I have met them. The design and engineering, the craftsmanship and hard work that went into my HUMVEE’s build is the reason I am alive today. I wish I had a picture of it to share.
Nathan Harlan served for 10 years in the U.S. Army and
now works as the Director of Operations for Tire Rack Mobile Installation.
Media Contact: Deborah Reyes, Executive Director, Global Marketing and Strategic Communications
E-mail: deborah.reyes@amgeneral.com