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"   Chris Mieras Ladson, S.C. Years on Job: 5     Nearly 60 percent of U.S. deaths in Iraq are caused by roadside bombs, which makes Chris Mieras&amp;#039;s goal pretty simple: Keep people alive. As a field mechanic for Force Protection, a military contractor, he has spent two years in Iraq doing maintenance and troop training for IED- and mine-clearing vehicles called Buffaloes. His damage reports have led to improvements in the machinery--with impressive results. Since 2004, the 180 or so Buffaloes in Iraq have withstood a large number of attacks, with just three fatalities. While shifting budgets have left the future uncertain for the $750,000 vehicles, the 39-year-old Mieras will return to Iraq for a third year in April. &amp;quot;These trucks take blasts that amaze me,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;And the soldiers live to tell the stories.&amp;quot;  RELATED STORIES * PODCAST: Iraq Vehicle Report, From the Trenches and the Mechanics  * IRAQ BLOG: Testing the MRAP Humvee (Upside-Down!)  * TECH WATCH: Pentagon Supercomputer Powers IED-Hunting Second Life   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a2789/4258818/>