Whether it’s a hostage situation or an armed suspect, Wood County Special Response Team members are the
ones called out to protect and serve when the situation gets especially dicey.
And now they’ve got a new weapon in their arsenal. It’s bigger than the Batmobile, but just about as
tough.
The Wood County Sheriff’s Office, which houses the SRT, is now the home of a new MRAP (Mine-Resistant
Ambush Protected) vehicle to replace the SRT’s 31-year-old transport.
"This is the most safe vehicle the team could ever have," said Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn.
"And safety is number one."
The vehicle, built on an International truck chassis, is technically on loan from the U.S. Army – it had
formerly seen duty during a tour of Afghanistan, where it was used as a communications vehicle. A 2008
model, it has 7,000 miles on it, and comes to the Sheriff’s Office at no charge via a program from the
military’s Law Enforcement Support Office. The vehicle itself cost the military about $650,000.
They were able to acquire the vehicle due to the multi-jurisdictional nature of the agency, and the fact
that the SRT is listed as a first-wave responder should an incident occur at the Davis-Besse nuclear
power plant in Oak Harbor. Janet Fenn, a Sheriff’s Office volunteer and retired U.S. Army major, worked
on the process to help bring the MRAP to the SRT, said Wasylyshyn. The SRT is typically called out to
assist at crime scenes at least once a month, he noted.

Members of the 1483rd Transportation Co. of the Army National Guard in Walbridge assisted with some
preliminary matters concerning the vehicle once it arrived.
The MRAP did need some retrofitting work, including installing the necessary lights and sirens, removing
a gun turret, and also identification painting. All of the retrofitting, including a number of elements
coming for local businesses, was paid for from a drug forfeiture fund, not with taxpayer dollars, said
Wasylyshyn.
Det. Sgt. Rod Smith, who is also the SRT’s assistant team commander, noted that the SRT’s previous
vehicle, a 1983 model, had essentially reached the end of its usefulness.
"It’s pretty much run its course as far as useful life expectancy."
The MRAP seats eight team members, but more can be fit inside, and there are plans to potentially expand
the seating capacity. Each of the four spotlights can be controlled through an interior joystick. The
vehicle’s impressive height can help it wade through deep water – it is tested for more than 36 inches.
Its doors – each weighing 700 pounds – are opened with an air-assistance mechanism, and can withstand a
50-caliber machine gun or a rocket-propelled grenade. "We hope and pray we never have to use
it" in the face of those kind of arms, said Smith.
"It’s one of the safest vehicles in the world," he said. "Why would we not want it, for
minimal cost, just for the safety aspect of our guys?"