FT. WOOD LEONARD, Mo. -- As the U.S. prepares to send more troops to Afghanistan, the military back home is looking for ways to better protect soldiers from I.E.Ds.

Improvised explosive devices are becoming more deadly in that country, and Fort Leonard Wood invited officials from eight different countries to exchange and brainstorm ideas about improving defense against them.

The three vehicles on the front lines: The RG-31, The Buffalo and The Husky.

"These vehicles are very, very important. These vehicles save a lot of soldiers lives," said Sgt. Timothy Barksdale.

The RG leads the way to provide security for route clearance.  The Husky marks where the bomb is.  The Buffalo, with its claw, destroys them.  They are the most survivable vehicles in the world.

"Particularly the Husky, the tires are made to blow completely off. And so that the shock from the explosion is just blown in the air rather than be transmitted into the frame of the vehicle," explained Ft. Wood's Eric McGrath.

But officials want to make them even tougher, so they're looking at what type of armor can be added without weighing them down.  They're also exploring better, clearer cameras and finding easier ways to service them.

"Many of the vehicles have had dozens of strikes against them, so if you can replace them on the spot, that's a whole lot easier than dragging them off a mountain road and back to base to do repairs," said McGrath.

Other countries are taking notice.  Germany is increasing the amount of troops in the Afghan theater by more than a third, which means they have an interest in not only improving the vehicles -- but acquiring some of their own.

"They reduced their IED threat, they are very safe, most of the personnel survived the attacks. The operator I was talking to survived 17 IED attacks. I was very impressed about this high number," said German official Wolfgang Bayer, who attended the conference.

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