TYLER, Texas (Reuter) Sheriff J.B. Smith may only be a
smalltown Texas lawman but he has acquired a big new weapon in
his war on crime a pair of 13ton armored personnel carriers.
Smith picked up the free army surplus trackdriven carriers
under a federal program giving old military equipment to
civilian police forces for antinarcotics efforts. He said they
could come in handy in a wide variety of crises.

``We could use them in hostage situations, dangerous
standoffs and even for crowd control,'' Smith, sheriff for east
Texas' generally quiet Smith County, said last week.

Smith County covers more than 900 square miles and has a
population of just 160,000 but the sheriff said it can be more
dangerous than people might think and the armored personnel
carriers unveiled this month could prove invaluable.

``We have had narcotics raids where there could have been a
lot of shooting ... These carriers would make any criminal think
twice. We can just back them up to a building and knock down the
door,'' he said.

The carriers have been christened by Smith and his deputies
as ``Bubba 1'' and ``Bubba 2.''

``They kind of look like bubbas they're big, broad and
strong. It just seemed the right name for them,'' Smith said.

Bubba 1 has already been painted black with ``Sheriff'' in
white letters on the side. An armored plate on the front reads
''Knock, Knock'' and a smiley face framed with the message
''Have a Nice Day'' beams from the rear. Bubba 2 was still in
its army camouflage but should get a new coat of paint soon.

The carriers only manage a little more than three miles
pergallon of fuel but can carry seven officers inside, have a
range of about 300 miles, can travel up to 40 mph and can
scramble over 60degree terrain. They can also withstand hand
grenade blasts and heavy calibre gunfire.
Despite their power, Smith said the carriers probably would
not scare off hardened criminals. ``I'm not sure how much of a
deterrent they will be. Most hoodlums are just too stupid to
understand.''