The latest and greatest in military truck transportation has come to the Pennsylvania National Guard in Lehighton with the delivery of the first of the newest trucks that the Army has to offer.

While the older model trucks being replaced are just basically modified, regular over-the-road tractor trailer types that you could buy at a Freightliner dealer, these new trucks are designed and engineered specifically for the Army.The new vehicles are not the only changes with the National Guard in Lehighton, as there has also been a change in the Guard Unit located there."The unit has switched from the 1067th out of Phoenixville to the 131 out of Williamstown," according to SSG Chuck Francisco.Changing the local unit to the 131 logistically makes more sense because Lehighton is located much closer to Williamstown.SSG Francisco noted that "with that change we got new trucks. They're getting rid of all the old trucks from the 1067th and the 131 now has the Army's newest and greatest trucks."We've got the newest truck that the Army has and the Pennsylvania National Guard is privileged to have it because the Pennsylvania Guard, being the largest one on the East coast, gets the first and newest of everything and to have it right here in Lehighton is just a privilege," added Francisco."This is the first one, so that we can get the drivers trained on the new truck, because it is quite a bit different from the old ones."Some of the differences are: it has armor plate of two-inch-thick armored steel; the thick armored steel goes across the front of the firewall; under the cab it has a 'V' hull where if there is an explosion, it disperses it out the sides instead of up into the truck; there is also removable armor that mounts on the sides of the truck."In addition to the armor features, Francisco noted "because of the armor plating, the new truck has larger air bags that hold up the air-ride cab than normal commercial trucks. It has a higher weight rating than normal over-the-road trucks and it has heavier springs in the front. It carries more fuel than our old trucks; the cab is much more user-friendly with plenty of space for equipment and to move around in; and it has a sleeper on it while our old trucks didn't."It has a Sixty Series Detroit, which is one of the top engines for commercial drivers, this is state of the art and its really quite comfortable," said Francisco."As we moved from the 1067th to the 131, some people wanted to remain with the 1067th and went with them and others stayed so the manning here in Lehighton is down and we're going to be getting all these trucks and we don't really have enough drivers for them."What we'd like to do is get some new drivers. The National Guard is hiring and looking for truck drivers and here is the truck that the Army has to offer right here in Lehighton."If anybody is interested in coming into the Guard and becoming a truck driver they can contact Francisco at (610) 379-1087.This new state of the art Freightliner will be on display at the Carbon County Fair beginning today, along with other equipment of the Pennsylvania National Guard in Lehighton.