国家地理:Explorer: Iraq's Guns for Hire 伊战前线

Back at the Armor Group compound, another team prepares for a different kind of mission. They'll travel low profile, trying to blend in with the Iraqis.

Low profile certainly can be an awful lot safer. If faced down properly, people will not know, they will not know who we are, until even if it's too late they do see who we are, by that time we have gone.

Traveling under cover requires a different set of high-tech 1 toys and tactics. And after 23 years of service in the British army, Steve Finleyson knows them all. He's been a contractor 2 in Baghdad for 30 months. Today, that experience will come in handy. The mission: transport Armor Group executive John Garing to a meeting at the Iraqi Ministry 3 of Finance and do it undetected.

Steve's convoy 4 will travel under cover. But that doesn't mean they won't be prepared.
When we go in high profile, every one knows who we are and what we are. The people in Bagdad know they are so used to us, they'll see us coming in the rear mirrors of their automobile 5 and will pull over and just let us go with them. Low profile however, is different, you can say you are quite hybrid 6, just want the traffic and you just blend in a heavy steel car.

The cars look like any others on Iraqi roads, Mercedes, BMWs, but they sport some premium 7 features not available to the average consumer. Thick factory armor hides under the exterior 8 panels. And advanced communication systems track the team's movements, just like high profile convoys 9. Steve's colleague Peter Hays, makes sure the transponder's well hidden. The alarm button is kept within reach.

Hey, sir, good voice here, is that your panic alarm for the transponder?

These two little buttons pressed at the same time send the distress 10 call to headquarters. But contractors 11 can't wait for backup, so they rely on specialized 12 equipment/ to help them dodge 13 danger. A stationary 14 target is an easy target. So run flats, tires within the tires, enable these vehicles to keep rolling at 50 miles, even after a bullet or shrapnel damage. And if stopped, smoke canisters provide cover. Insurgents 15 can't shoot if they can't see and smoke screens can give contractors the time they need to run to safety.

There're needs and ways to help us get away from what's going on without, you know, causing more casualties or intriguing 16 the crime.

The vehicles aren't the only things modified for a low-profile mission. The weapons are too. They need to be small enough to be concealed 17 inside a compact car, yet powerful enough to hold off insurgence 18. Harry 19 O'secnic customizes the guns to the contractors' specifications 20.

We cut them down, we recrown, we machine everything back down again, we press back on the gas cylinder 21, we press on the front sight. We re-pin it then we draw out the gas system to 4mm. If somebody got killed, which does happen and some of my friends have passed on, I feel bad. But I will feel even worse if I could have done something and kept him alive and didn't do it.