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Force Protection, Inc. 2006 Shareholder's Meeting - CEO Remarks

Publisher: Force Protection, Inc.
Date: 09/20/2006

I had the honor to be invited to join Force Protection�s management team in January of 2005. That�s 21 months ago now. Back then, it seemed that there were a lot of unknowns for all of us. We had little manufacturing capability, we had only the hope of a few small vehicle orders from the United States Government and there were only a few people that made up our entire workforce. It seemed that around every corner there was risk just waiting to deal the company its final blow.

I had the distinct pleasure of joining a group of people that were willing to �suit-up� and �show up� every single day, even when hope was at a premium.

These people felt an obligation to two groups of people: The military personnel that needed the protection that we knew our vehicles would provide, and the shareholders that had been willing to invest in what was, at the time, certainly a �long shot�. They may not have considered these groups during every working moment, but whenever they got a chance to take a short break, from the grueling schedule that most have been working for the last 20 or so months, it was always easy recall why we were all here: To save lives and to pay a return to the shareholders that had bet on the company.

I trust that you, our shareholders, now feel that you made at least a �reasonable� choice when you invested in Force Protection, Inc. We have worked very hard to create the value that we think you deserve. This return was made available to you; while at the same time doing something very important�..that�s saving the lives of our fighting forces that are carrying out a mission that our government has chosen to take on.

I guess a better way to summarize it is: We are delighted to be able to do well, by doing good!

It has not always been easy, but growing and running a business seldom is. Due to the immediate demand created for our products and the effectiveness that our technology has delivered against a powerful threat, we did not always have time to do it the way we would have liked. It caused us to have to build a company�. while we ran it at full speed. I�m sure you can imagine that this led to some inefficiency.

We feel that most of that is behind us now. The early investments we made in good people and good processes now pay benefits daily. Evidence that we are on the right track appears daily as we increase the performance both operationally and financially. We are not through yet and there is probably more to do that we have already done. That is the situation in a company that is growing. Each success creates the opportunity for more success and we are ready for the challenge.

The future of the company looks better than it ever has, to those that are working in, and on, it daily. Vehicle deliveries to the customer are increasing steadily. We have now secured contracts with an international customer, and we have future products well into the development process that will create an even broader product offering as we go forward.

There are still conditions that are difficult to predict, such as the situation with the conflict in the Middle East and the upcoming elections. Both of those could have an effect on Force Protection, Inc. We will be vigilant in looking for signs that require action, on our part, to respond to any pending changes in either situation. We don�t predict that there will be a decrease in demand for the products of our company, but there could be a change in the rate in which our customers demand them. We will be very proactive in addressing any such changes, even though it is sometimes difficult to anticipate what our customers will do next.

Right now we are very optimistic about the opportunities that we see before us and we will continue to take steps to be prepared to take advantage of them. We have literally created the market for vehicles of the type we offer and they are widely considered the �Gold Standard� against the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and other similar such devices that our enemies use. Our job is to stay one step ahead of our enemies with our technologies and we plan to do just that. By the time our competitors get to where we currently are with our technology we plan to be at a new more desirable level of protection and capability to manufacture it.

Thank you for your past confidence in our company, we will continue to work to earn it in the future as well.

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