We currently have several of these LSSVs in my unit. The first ones showed up back in March '09 or so and have been filtering in ever since. Interestingly enough, they no longer run the two-piece wheels with the 33" Super Swampers that you see pictured due to numerous incidents of tread separation while on the freeway, so they all got recalled. Now, they run 33" BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO's with one-piece wheels. The first ones came with blackout covers riveted over the headlights and taillights, but we were told to remove them relatively soon after getting them. Also, there's no NATO slave receptacle so when the somewhat older LSSV's need a jump - which happens all the time - we can't use the new ones unless we break out cables from some guy's personal vehicle. They're nice trucks and all, but I'm not impressed with their ground clearance due to the IFS and tons of skid plates. More than one have come back from desert ops out at China Lake or Fallon with the undercarriages tore up due to encounters with rocks. About all we use them for is personnel transport to and from command activities, such as off-base PT sessions, pulling small boats, and impressing civilians during military displays at air shows, etc. Honestly, the plain-jane F-350 duallies we have are more useful in day-to-day operations due to their higher towing/payload ratings and they probably cost half as much. In addition, deploying units haven't been taking these to Iraq or Afghanistan since armored Humvees are the norm, so the whole blackout light system is pretty much a waste. Don't get me wrong, they're comfortable trucks and real eyecatchers when driving around town, but whoever ordered these things and approved all the extras went a bit overboard and wasted a lot of money!Thanks John Q taxpayer for yet another over-priced military toy!
