Vehicle training site opens

Force Protection Inc. may have found a way to make the steep, rocky terrain of Afghanistan less intimidating and more navigable for U.S. troops on the verge of deployment to the war-torn nation.

The Ladson-based company, which makes armored vehicles designed to withstand powerful explosive blasts, marked the opening of an expansive training facility outside Durham, N.C., on Tuesday.

The 212-acre operation in Roxboro has a 432,000-square foot building where military personnel can study and learn how to operate the vehicles. Outside, they’ll be able to drive the bulky vehicles around a course built to simulate Afghanistan’s mountainous geography.

The facility will train about 60 military-related students per week.

“When we look at the training and capabilities center, we see this as a part of Force Protection’s long-term commitment to our vehicles and to our customers,” Michael Moody, chief executive officer, told a group of elected officials, company executives and military dignitaries.

Officials dedicated the facility’s 1.5-mile off-road course to retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Robert M. Patterson, a Durham resident who received the Medal of Honor after he protected his fellow soldiers in Vietnam from heavy enemy fire.

Officials who spoke at the ceremony said the training facility could give U.S. troops an advantage in combat.

“It’s been a long effort and a costly effort as we have recently seen with the death of (Roxboro resident Pfc. Richard “Richie” Kelvin Jones),” said North Carolina statehouse representative Winkie Wilkins. “May the day come when our troops return home safely. And I fully believe that what’s happening here at Force Protection will have a lot to do with that safe return.”

Separately, the company was awarded an $8.1 million contract from the Navy to provide field support for the Marine Corps in Afghanistan, it was announced Tuesday.