CAMP SPEICHER, Iraq - A nine-pronged fork at the end of a 30-foot (10 metre) metal arm, a remote-guided weapons system "100 times better" than a gunner, and a bulldozer named "Natasha" are among the best weapons US soldiers in Iraq have in their war against roadside bombs.
The hunt for improvised explosive devices (IEDS) is one of the most important missions at this sprawling base, which sits about seven miles (11 kilometers) from executed dictator Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Reporters visiting Camp Speicher with Vice President Dick Cheney this week got a demonstration from soldiers eager to give journalists a small taste of the war seen from their heavily armoured vehicles.
"People back home really don't know what we do," Staff Sergeant Cory Bell, 25, explains with a wry grin. "They say, 'you're in a Buffalo? What?' So I don't bother."
There's another reason Bell doesn't go into detail with friends or family in Pennsylvania: His mission is to find and dispose of roadside bombs, but "I try not to scare the wife. I tell her we move rocks and stuff."
Bell doesn't mind that the demonstration may blow his cover at home: He wants to talk about the Buffalo, a 45,000-pound (20,500-kilogram), six-wheeled armoured vehicle in which he hunts for IEDs.
He describes the vehicle to journalists the way he might speak to raw recruits a little intimidated by the machine: "Don't get confused. This arm is like your arm, and you can do anything with this arm that you do with yours."
Except that Bell is talking about a 30-foot (10-meter) steel limb sticking out of his "Buffalo," equipped with remote-control cameras and ending in metal fork with nine prongs that he uses to dig up -- or blow up -- roadside bombs.
Sometimes, the IEDs destroy the fork, he says casually, but "better a fork than a soldier. You can always buy more forks."
Last week, Bell and his team destroyed six IEDs in three days, though he's wary of drawing sweeping conclusions: "We're finding more of them. Either they're putting that many more down or we're just getting that much better."
But the message reporters are meant to draw from the demonstration is clear: US forces can win a war that remains overwhelmingly unpopular at home, as long as they have US public support and the right equipment.
"Every IED we find is at least one life saved -- an American or an Iraqi. Weve found at least 300, so thats at least 300 lives saved," says First Sergeant David Hopkins, who survived an IED attack on December 4, 2006.
"A normal car, I would probably not be standing here," said Hopkins, who was in a specially armoured vehicle. "I might still be alive, but I wouldnt be standing here talking about it."
Nearby sits a D9 Armoured Bulldozer, a 135,600-pound colossus that troops use to clear wreckage from roads, fill craters, and bring down buildings used by insurgents or extremists.
"It's got more balls than anything I've ever driven," says Private First Class Randal Grime, inviting a reporter to sit in the driver's seat.
The reinforced glass is pock-marked from a IED blast, and graffiti above the steering wheel urges its caretakers to note "Dozer name: 'Natasha'" and includes a note from the Israeli forces who had her first.
Nearby, Specialist Eric Emo, 23, shows off the Common Remotely Operated Weapon System, which he said "is 100 times better than a regular joe behind a gun" in part thanks to its laser sighting, body heat detection during night missions, and the computer-assisted systems that sharply increase its accuracy.
It also includes a remote-controlled robot with a pincer hand, better suited to small spaces than the Buffalo.
With it, Emo keeps a lookout for any potential threats to the team.
"It's just like a video game for big kids," says Emo, who points out thumb-sized holes in the vehicle stemming from an IED blast.
Nearby, Sergeant Aaron Fore, 43, helps a reporter into the gunner's turret of his armoured vehicle, and encourages him to grab the controls of "Old Painless" -- the .50 caliber machine gun.
The vehicle has run 8,500 miles, over 74 missions, has been struck eight times with no injuries, while helping to destroy more than 10 IEDs, says Fore, who smiles when asked his age.
"I'm 43," he says with a chuckle. "They tease me about it. I was reading a military history magazine recently, and one of the other guys came up and said 'what are you doing? Looking for your picture'?"
"They call me 'Grandpa,' which I am," he said. "I have grandkids at home."

05/11/2007 07:32 GMT