The gun port openings in the armor had slots on the outside to hold removable ballistic windows for added protection to the crew compartment (below left).

     Unfortunately the glass, multi-layers of a composite polymer plastic housed in metal frames, was so thick it badly distorted the view from the interior of the jeep. It also restricted the flow of air through open gun ports from cooling the inside of the compartment in the heat of the day in Vietnam.

     Add to that the dust and grit hitting it and exposure to the heat and humidity and it scratched easily and clouded up quickly so you couldn't see through it at all. Contrary to standard operating procedures, many of the crews that used the armored gun jeeps would take the ballistic windows out of the slots and pile it on the back floor of the jeep.

     This practice was frowned upon by the command and constant efforts were made to remind the crew members to keep the glass panels in during the convoy escorts and highway security patrols.

     There was even a ballistic window (photo above left) with an enemy small arms round embedded in it on display in the mess hall with a reminder of what could happen without the windows.

     The MP's were not deterred, they found it was much safer to be able to see the enemy through a small open slit rather than stick their heads up over the armor sides because the ballistics glass was clouded.