Hesco bastion

The HESCO barrier or HESCO bastion is a modern gabion for military fortification. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary blast or small-arms barrier. One of the less heralded life- and labor-saving devices of war, it is used on nearly every U.S. Military base in Iraq as well as on NATO bases in Afghanistan. It is named after the British company that developed it over a decade ago.

Originally designed for use on beaches and marshes for erosion and flood control, [" [http://chl.erdc.usace.army.mil/Media/6/7/8/FFSDPFactSheet1-2006.pdf Flood Fighting Structures Demonstration and Evaluation Program] " - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Factsheet January 2006] the HESCO Bastion quickly became a popular security device in the 1990s. [" [http://www.dtic.mil/bosnia/talon/tal19961206.pdf Engineers wall Dobol] " - The Talon, Operation Joint Endeavour, Friday 6 December 1996]

Technically, the brand name for the barrier is 'Concertainer', with 'HESCO Bastion' being the British company that produces it, [" [http://www.leedsliveitloveit.com/Residents/News/NewsArticle/tabid/432/ItemId/2402/Details/Default.aspx Ex-miner's £10m gift to good causes] " - "Yorkshire Post/Yorkshire Evening Post", via the 'leedsliveitloveit.com' website. Accessed 2008-04-18.] though the barrier itself is quite generally referred to as a HESCO Bastion.

Assembly

Assembling the HESCO bastion entails unfolding it and (if available) using a front end loader to fill it with sand, dirt or gravel. The principle protecting personnel and equipment from enemy fire (or bombs) is very similar to the use of sandbags or earth berms in previous conflicts. The main advantage of the HESCO barriers, strongly contributing to its popularity with troops, is the quick and easy setup. Previously, troops had to fill sandbags, a slow undertaking, with one soldier filling about 20 sandbags per hour. Troops using HESCO barriers and a front end loader can do ten times the work of troops using sandbags.

The HESCO barriers come in a variety of sizes designed for military work. Most of the barriers can also be stacked, and they are shipped collapsed in compact sets. Example dimensions of typical configurations are 4’6”x3’6”x32’ to 7’x5’x100’.

Protection

Filled with sand, 60 centimetres (24 inches) of barrier thickness will stop rifle bullets and shell fragments. It takes 1,5 metre (five feet) of thickness to prevent penetration by an RPG round. Approximately 1.2 metres (four feet) of thickness provides protection against most car bombs.Fact|date=March 2008

ee also

*Bremer wall, steel-reinforced concrete blast walls
*Gabion, a historic precursor for both erosion control and defense
*Erosion, original intended use of the Hesco-type containers

References

External links

* [http://www.hesco.com/ Hesco Bastion Ltd] (homepage of the 'Hesco' manufacturer)