The shares of specialty vehicle maker Oshkosh Corp. (OSK), first discussed here on July 6, 2009 at a price of $21.48, totally misbehaved this summer -- forming a bear-hug pattern, during a swoon from about $45 to about $25.

Talk about haircuts. Since then, the shares have rebounded to about $31, and even though the bears will argue the rise is short-covering, the calculation here is that it's not, and OSK will continue to head north. And the reasons are obvious enough.

Ignore the static: it's still a good time to consider shares of specialty vehicle maker Oshkosh Corp. (OSK), which I first wrote about on July 6, 2009 at a price of $21.48.

The static? Two competitors protesting Oshkosh's win of a U.S. Army contract for 2,568 trucks, with the possibility of supplying as many as 23,000 vehicles and trailers under a five-year contract.

Pierce Manufacturing is a member of the family of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), formerly the Oshkosh Truck Corporation. For the second month in a row, Pierce Manufacturing has announced another major equipment building contract.

In October, Pierce Mfg. announced that it had been awarded a $10.7 million contract to provide 68 fire rescue vehicles for the United States Army. This time around, the new contract is not quite as large, but it comes from a first time customer, the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The company issued a news release about this new contract for nine new fire rescue vehicles yesterday.

Representatives for the Phoenix Fire department put the Pierce Quantum pumpers through rigorous testing. The Quantum designation, which refers to the vehicle's chassis design, was met with full approval. The unit proved itself particularly well in regard to the aspects of ride and vehicle control. John Simmons, acting division chief for fleet management of the Phoenix Fire Department, indicated that those features were an important focus for his committee, and that they were duly impressed.

The nine units to be delivered will be customized to serve the Phoenix department's particular needs. The Phoenix Fire Department operates 53 fire stations and protects 1.47 million citizens in our nation's fifth largest city.

Disclosure: My brother is an electronic component installer, employed by Pierce Manufacturing.