“A block from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh campus, a behemoth military truck more suited for Afghanistan than the Fox Valley rumbles down a narrow street – it's a 16-ton reminder of what was one of the biggest U.S. military buildups since World War II.

Thousands of similar vehicles have come off the assembly lines at Oshkosh Corp., one of the state's largest manufacturers, during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The work included assembling military vehicles from scratch as well as rebuilding trucks whose cabs and trailers had been mangled by deadly roadside bombs.

But with the war in Afghanistan winding down, Oshkosh Corp. last week said it would lay off 900 workers this summer – about 25% of the company's defense division work force – ending a four-year hiring spree and slowing what former Defense Secretary Robert Gates once said was one of the most impressive military-vehicle production runs in decades”. Rick Barrett via The Journal Sentinel

Photos: A view motorists have grown accustomed seeing, a military truck made by Oshkosh Corp. is taken for a test drive Thursday, April 11, 2013 in Oshkosh, Wis. Faced with deep cuts in U.S. military spending, and the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Oshkosh Corp. is laying off 900 employees in its defense division based in Oshkosh. Approximately 700 hourly workers at the state's largest manufacturer will lose their jobs in mid-June, followed by approximately 200 salaried employees through July. (Photo by Mark Hoffman via The Journal Sentinel)