Blakely academy sells armored cars - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

Blakely academy sells armored cars

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BLAKELY, GA (WALB) -

You know those armored cars that carry around important people like the president or governor?

 The American International Marksmanship Academy in Blakely offers training to military and special forces, and now, they are selling the vehicles that protect them on the battlefield, and protect dignitaries on their travels.

At first glance, the armored car looks a lot like a personal car. But, all you have to do is open the door to feel the difference. 

"The weight of it is the biggest thing," said Mark Masoner, CEO of American International Markmanship Academy. "Of course, when you open it up, you've got the reinforced window panels that come all the up, and the door panels. You've got the hinges. That's what you have to have to handle this much weight."

The cars have been used on international ground for a while and they are being seen more in the United States.

"These vehicles are used pretty much overseas and a good portion of what is going on over there," Masoner said. "They are getting a lot more use in the United States for dignitaries and even politicians."

It has a stronger suspension to deal with more weight. Even the windows are a lot heavier than you might think. 

"This is what you're dealing with," Masoner said. "That is probably a 100 pound piece of glass."

The academy already has plenty of land for soldier training. They have ranges that expand all the way to one thousand yards. The new vehicles give them another element to training.

"We wanted to be the first ones on this area to do it," Masoner said. "With Georgia being where it is with the ports, it was important for us because we can do the training and we can them shipped out. We can do it all at once right here."

They want to be sure that in all of their training, the military, cops, and all of their trainees stay safe. 

"But it is nice to train what I like to do," Masoner said. "When we built this place, we talked about real world training. This allows that."

They will soon build a track to teach people how to drive these machines.

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