Some police are fighting crime with 18-ton armored military vehicles

Since troops have been withdrawn from Iraq, the U.S. military is sitting on a hefty surplus of military grade equipment that it has nothing to do with. Fortunately, thanks to the national military surplus program, the U.S. military has found some use for their excess equipment. 

With the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, the US military had a problem: over 160 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs, were laying unused. That problem’s been resolved thanks to the national military surplus program, which has found a good home for the 18-ton trucks — your local law enforcement’s parking lot. According to Stars and Stripes, 165 vehicles, each worth around $500,000, have been snapped up by police and sheriff’s departments across the country.