BAGDAD, IRAQ – Falcon Security Company has spent the past year and a half in Baghdad and Mosel, Iraq, piloting a fleet of Ford F-350 pickups, escorting military and civilian convoys along some of the most dangerous stretches of Iraqi roads. Louis Powell and his crew have spent the past year and a half in Baghdad and Mosel, Iraq, piloting a fleet of Ford F-350 pickups, escorting military and civilian convoys along some of the most dangerous stretches of Iraqi roads. Powell’s vehicles have come under attack many times, including when F-350 was hit nine times by roadside bombs, escaping with nothing more than a blown-out windshield and some minor body damage. One harrowing tale stands out from the rest. While returning to camp in Baghdad last March, a convoy of six trucks came under heavy machine-gun fire as they went under an overpass. All but one of the six trucks sustained heavy damage with bullet holes puncturing the radiators and blowing out all the tires. One vehicle even took several hits to the engine block and was losing oil and transmission fluid. Powell’s truck was littered with bullet holes, blowing out the windshield and ripping through the body, with one stray shot hitting the wiring harness. However, the trucks kept running. “We had to get out of the kill zone and couldn’t change tires, so we hauled butt back to the camp on flat tires and blown-out engines,” Powell said. “We drove five miles, under heavy fire the whole way back. The Army couldn’t believe it. They cheered as we hit the gates.”