US DoD Honors Force Protection

(Ladson, SC., October 31, 2008) -- Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT) was honored on October 30th by officials from the Department of Defense for providing life-saving Cougar vehicles that have kept members from all forces of the United States military safe while fighting the global war on terror. Force Protection is the only MRAP manufacturer with vehicles currently in service with the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force.

Brigadier General Michael M. Brogan, on behalf of John J. Young, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, addressed the workforce. "Your vehicles provide the war fighters the confidence and assurance that when they leave the gate of that forward operating base they have a tremendous likelihood of coming back. Far greater than they had in the up armored Humvees. There are still things that need to be done. You will continue to deliver vehicles to our coalition partners. There are still challenges to be met, and there are upgrades and improvements for the long haul to keep these vehicles in service."


"We are honored to have played such an important role in the MRAP program and in the war effort as a whole," said Michael Moody, CEO and Chairman for Force Protection. "We take a great deal of pride in knowing that we laid the foundation for the MRAP program. Our vehicles were the first to the fight and still are the safest out there."

Paul Mann, MRAP Program Manager, in his remarks to the workers added, "What you've done is incredible. You should be proud of this achievement for the rest of your life. What you did to ignite a fuse, is so much larger than yourself. It happened because you believed it could be done. Because of the workforce we have nearly 14,000 vehicles produced from industry and more than 10,000 in theater."

"Today is especially special because not only are we here at Force Protection Industries where it all really began for MRAP, but we are here with all of you who have really done a great job of producing vehicles and getting them in the fight when we were waiting for other vehicles to get there to support them," said Kim Yarboro, Assistant Program Manager for Cougar MRAP at Marine Corps Systems Command, in a statement addressed to Force Protection's workforce.

Staff Sergeant Kelly J. Minkler, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician who survived multiple blasts inside the Cougar vehicle during two tours in Iraq also expressed his gratitude to the Force Protection workforce. SSgt Minkler recounted a specific experience where he and his fellow war fighters in one mission disabled 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs), sustained 2 IED explosions directly to their vehicle, received small arms fire, and were hit by a Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) and sustained only minor injuries to the crew.

"The efforts of everyone here and all of the other people who work on this program have produced excellent products and saved numerous lives. We have built an excellent business for Force Protection and all of our suppliers, partners and customers," said Mr. Moody. "Part of our mission today is to look forward on what can be done to modernize and adapt our vehicles so that we can continue to save lives, but also to move forward with new technologies and innovations."

Source : Force Protection, Inc. (NASDAQ: FRPT)