The Austin Police Department has another new ride — only, this one’s a lot bigger.

To some, it may seem a little strange to see a Marine Corps Humvee in the Law Enforcement Center parking lot, but the heavily armored rig will be the go-to vehicle when the Special Incident Response Team tackles the most dangerous situations. And another thing: It was free.

Detective Todd Clennon, also commander of the Special Incident Response Team, admits he was a little hesitant to travel to Georgia to inspect the vehicle. He wondered if he would only see a bunch of worn-down, out-of-date military vehicles. Regardless, the Department of Defense was taking many vehicles out military service, and they were free — part of the military surplus and 1033 Law Enforcement Support Office Program.

“It was a fairly daunting process,” Clennon said, as there were many vehicles with limited information and pictures.

Police Chief Brian Krueger sent Clennon to check it out, and the timing couldn’t have been better. The retired military vehicles were available for qualifying law enforcement agencies on a first-come, first-serve basis. When Clennon arrived in Georgia, he had his pick of roughly 400 rigs.

“I really got lucky on the timing,” Clennon said, as he walked around the vehicle and pointed out its features.

Without much searching, Clennon snagged the Marine Corps Humvee troop mover with only 32 miles.

The vehicle has never been used in combat and is surrounded by thick plates of steel, bullet proof windows and seating for about eight officers. Opening the driver’s door feels more like opening a safe. It’s a 10,000-pound box of protection, as Clennon described it, and a valuable one. A base model would have cost $65,000, Clennon said. Add about 3,000 pounds of armor, and that’s another $35,000, not including labor.

“The department greatly appreciates being able to obtain this vehicle from the military surplus program, 1033 Law Enforcement Support Office program, for free,” Austin Police Capt. Dave McKichan said in a news release.

Of course, there was the issue of shipping the vehicle back to Minnesota, but that worked out well, too. Before taking the trip, Clennon tried to find a way to ship the Humvee. He said Lt. John Mueller, with plenty of trucking knowledge, helped with the search. Valley Transportation out of Grand Meadow was able to handle the job at a greatly reduced cost. Because the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office also received one of the Humvees, its truck was shipped with Austin’s. SEMA of Austin helped unload APD’s rig at no cost.

Now, APD just needs to put some graphics on the vehicle that identify it as local. Other than that, Clennon said if a situation were to arise at any time, the SIRT team could already use it. Clennon also likes the vehicle’s size, as it is not overly large or imposing.

“The size is right,” Clennon said. “It’s maneuverable.”

Clennon thought of several hostile occasions in the last two to three years in which the SIRT team would have used the vehicles. If shots are ever fired, officers will have plenty of protection behind this vehicle’s armor, which even runs along the undercarriage.

“It would be able to withstand any small arms fire should we encounter it,” Clennon said.

The vehicle may also be used in search and rescue missions and severe weather events.

Because the Humvee won’t be heavily used and would require minimal maintenance, Clennon believes it will serve for another 15 to 20 years.