Sometimes I think as much as I hold back that still I am being a little heavy in my emails to you all and not informational enough about what these guys do out here. So this week I want to share about some lifesavers I work with: the “Add-On Armor” shop, hard working men and women who save lives with every truck that rolls out of their “monster garage” and onto Iraqi roads. Say a prayer for these people this week that God would give them strength for each day’s task, and the perseverance to continue their heroic work.
“Big Bob’s Truck Stop”
Big Bob’s is an add-on armor shop. Their mission is to take military vehicles and add armor to them so all occupants can survive enemy attacks.
Trucks come in looking like this.
Lots of “hillbilly armor.” Pieces of scrap iron that have been welded onto the vehicle while functional does not completely keep everyone safe. That steel and iron has to be cut and ground off. This takes a lot of work! This is the first of a six step process of adding armor to a truck. These guys and ladies work 6, 12 hour shifts a week. Each truck is 100 man hours. Once the hillbilly armor is taken off, the truck is stripped of parts that will be replaced with new more comfortable parts, including nice cushioned seats, air conditioning, and of course, armor. 
I often get dirty with them; it’s fun to help out. At least I think I am am helping…
Of course the biggest piece is the cab that gets lifted and placed. One door alone weighs 350 pounds. The glass is 5 inches thick and can withstand an RPG hit. I have seen an RPG hit like this.
So the next time an insurgency arises in your neighborhood and you’re thinking about pimpin’ out your ride, just bring it in to Big Bob’s and let these guys do it right!
ABPnews will publish one entry a week from the journal then-Capt. Charles Seligman kept while deployed to Iraq as an Air Force chaplain in 2005. Now a major, Seligman currently serves as the deputy wing chaplain for the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. He is endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. You can read more of his story published September 11, 2013. You can also read older journal entries from Maj. Seligman.