Bobcat Loaders Have Landed in Afghanistan
Bobcat loaders are air-lifted to worksites in Afghanistan.
Bobcat® equipment is playing an important role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan, a country ravaged by years of conflict. During the regime of the Taliban, many infrastructure buildings and facilities were demolished. Today, the U.S. Army’s Bobcat loaders and attachments are helping with a massive reclamation project throughout the nation.
“Initially our equipment was used to support force protection functions, such as repairing airport runways, installing barbed wire fences, constructing berms and loading materials,” says Gerald Cardon, Bobcat government sales manager. “Once those jobs were completed, the loaders and attachments began rebuilding schools and hospitals.”
Most of the time the Bobcat equipment is air-lifted to worksites. “The terrain here is very unforgiving and driving is a huge hazard,” according to one U.S. Army helicopter pilot. “This manner of transporting greatly reduces the amount of time and saves a lot of lives from ambush and landmines.”
Each Bobcat product package includes a 763 skid-steer loader, a hydraulic breaker, auger, combination bucket and pallet forks. “Most of the loaders quickly accumulated 1,000 hours of operation,” says Cardon. “Considering the workload and the environment, they are performing well.”
The loaders are painted military green, but otherwise are normal production units built at the Bobcat factory in Gwinner, N.D. Some of the attachments are built at the Bobcat manufacturing facility in Bismarck, N.D.
“I believe Bobcat employees have a sense of pride and honor knowing they had some part to play in the fielding of our products to those defending our country,” says Cardon. “This is especially true in our manufacturing plants where many relive that sense of pride every time they install a component, tighten a fitting, or touch in any way a military green machine.
“The loaders and attachments enhance the military’s capability by providing greater mobility, better general construction support, force protection, survivability and counter mobility support to construction and combat engineer units. To the soldier, Bobcat products increase productivity, reduce overall mission time as well as soldier exposure and fatigue. In many of today’s military missions only a skid-steer loader and select attachments are suitable for use because of manpower and time constraints,” says Cardon.
Because Bobcat equipment has been around for 45 years, many in the U.S. military are familiar with the world’s most popular skid-steer loader. One Army pilot, who has been delivering loaders on a sling under his Chinook helicopter, reported he grew up with Bobcat loaders on a Minnesota dairy farm. “I love them,” he says.