Some good people flying shotgun for some good new Army trucks

Thank goodness for our American allies:

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Nobody wore a cowboy hat and there wasn't a horse in sight, but everyone who turned up for Calgary Stampede Days in Kandahar was carrying a real gun.

Canadian soldiers held a pancake breakfast at the Kandahar Airfield on Thursday to celebrate the Stampede, and used the occasion to informally thank American helicopter pilots for saving a Canadian convoy from a suicide bombing attack on July 2.

"It was pretty scary," said Pte. Phelycia Black, who was driving one of Canada's new Mercedes-Benz armoured trucks (more here) on her first trip outside the wire when the incident occurred.

We were on a gravel road, so it was dusty. All we saw was a dark vehicle
coming to our left."

Americans flying as lookouts above the convoy could see exactly what was about to happen and radioed a warning to the Canadians below, giving them a split second to veer away as the bomber blew himself up. The explosion killed the bomber and wounded three Afghan civilians. No Canadians were hurt.

Black, based out of Wainwright, thanked the Americans, who accepted the Canadian gesture -- along with a plateful of pancakes drenched in maple syrup.

"They saved our lives," said Black. "Seeing how it was my first time, I wasn't sure what to expect, but from now on that's all I'm going to be watching for."..

Some troops might grumble about the lack of helicopters, but they have nothing but praise for the new armoured trucks that look like 18-wheelers on steroids and come with a fridge in the cabin for their bottled water.

Black said the vehicle is so solidly armoured that the detonation of the suicide bomb seemed like little more than a "poof" even though the helicopter pilots described it as a huge fireball.

"In our new trucks, you don't feel anything," said Black...