SMYRNA, Tenn. - The Tennessee Army National Guard's 1/230th Air Cavalry Squadron received Oshkosh Corporation's 20,000th Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) in a ceremony here Nov. 5.
Eddie Garcia, director of marketing for Oshkosh Defense, presented Army Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee's adjutant general, with a ceremonial photo commemorating this milestone event for the military supplier.
"We're very pleased with the outstanding relationship between Oshkosh, the Department of Defense and the Tennessee National Guard," Hargett said. "It's a privilege for me to accept this 20,000th HEMTT on behalf of the more than 10,700 Soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard. We will definitely put it to work real soon."
The HEMTT is known as the "ship of the desert" for its extreme mobility in all types of terrain and has served the U.S. Army and Army National Guard since 1982. It provides transport capabilities for re-supply of combat vehicles and weapons systems.
There are five basic configurations of the HEMTT series trucks: M977 cargo truck with Material Handling Crane (MHC), M978 2500 gallon fuel tanker, M984 wrecker, M983 tractor, M1120 Load Handling System (LHS) and M985 cargo truck with MHC. This vehicle family is rapidly deployable and is designed to operate in any climatic condition where military operations are expected to occur.
The 20,000th HEMTT Fuel Tanker is adorned with a special brass recognition plate commemorating this milestone in Oshkosh Corporation production.
"The fielding of the 20,000th HEMTT is a momentous event" Garcia said. "This was a program started more than 20 years ago when we began fielding the initial models of this highly successful family.
"The beneficiaries of this vehicle design, however, are the men and women who operate it on a daily basis, and we're proud to be presenting the 20,000th HEMTT to the hard working soldiers of the U.S. Army and the Tennessee National Guard."
The Tennessee Army National Guard has more than 310 Oshkosh-series vehicles currently in service, representing 100 percent of its allocation. More than 80 of these received over the past 24 months are new or refurbished.