A site in North Carolina initially intended to be used for expanded production of military vehicles, was dedicated as a training center for mechanics and drivers of Mine Resistent Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles.

Force Protection Inc. CEO Michael Moody and retired Master Sgt. Robert Patterson cut a green ribbon alongside the red-dirt and gravel 1.5-mile off-road driving course just outside Roxboro on Aug. 25.

Patterson, a local tobacco farmer, was awarded a Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam in 1968.

“This course is designed to give as much challenge and replicate as much as possible what soldiers will encounter in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Moody said.

With that in mind, two of the 20 teachers on hand took visitors for a tour of the course, which includes sandy and muddy sections and a pit with 40-degree slopes. The trip was made in Force Protection’s Buffalo and Cougar MRAP vehicles.

The 212-acre parcel was acquired two years ago by Force Protection, a Ladson, S.C., firm that was among the first to produce MRAPs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The site was planned as the site of a facility to build the company’s Cheetah, an entrant into the sweepstakes to replace the Humvee. The Cheetah, however, was not among the vehicles chosen in the down-select process earlier this year.

With its heavy-duty Buffalo and Cougar, Force Protection continues to be a force in MRAPs, which it is modifying with an independent suspension kit to make it more adaptable to the rugged terrain of Afghanistan, Moody said. Critics of the MRAP have complained that the vehicle, which is credited with saving lives in Iraq, is a “one-theater vehicle.”

“What that will do is ensure that our Cougars are in the fight in Afghanistan,” Moody said of the independent suspension system.

The Roxboro facility offers a one-week training regimen for drivers and a two-week program for maintainers, who work in a 42,000-square-foot building. It is set up to graduate about 60 soldiers per week.

Because Force Protection is now selling to the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, France, Poland and Iraq, in addition to the U.S., its classes are multinational. The U.S. contingent is split about evenly between Marines and Army personnel.

Moody said that the company has a commitment from the federal government to send trainees through the end of the year.

“This is just the start here. This is Phase One,” he said. “We’re looking to extend those contracts into next year and beyond and to offer a broader range of service. We’re looking at operating other enhancements in training.”