The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the proposed replacement by Lockheed Martin for the military Humvee. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)
Lockheed Martin gave away a big check and promoted its proposed replacement for the military Humvee at the same time this week in Huntsville.
The defense contractor company ran a Selfless Selfie campaign at the AUSA Symposium & Exposition at Von Braun Center. Lockheed Martin encouraged people to take a photo of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle -- which is competing to replace the Humvee - and use the hashtag #JTLVandme.
For each photo with that hashtag, Lockheed Martin donated $10 to TAPS - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which provides help in a variety of ways to families who lost loved ones on the battlefield.
On Thursday, Lockheed Martin presented TAPS a check for $10,000.
"Lockheed Martin has been a supporter of TAPS for 20 years," said Bonnie Carroll, president and founder of TAPS. "The support here in this incredible campaign is really exciting."
Lockheed Martin is expecting word this summer on if its vehicle will be chosen to replace the Humvee. Lockheed Martin is also competing with AM General (which makes the Humvee) and Oshkosh.
"We are in the final throes of an intense competition for the Humvee replacement and this vehicle represents our design for that competition," said Kathryn Hasse, program director for the JTLV. "What you are looking at is what we fondly refer to as our SUV variant. It's actually called the general purpose variant for the forces."