Abrams tank drivers

[eckherl]

Ooooh, that's bad.

I really hate concertina wire.
This stuff tends to lie everywhere on training areas because somebody was too lazy to clean up his stuff.
And you always run over it. It really ruins your day.

But managing to hit a ravine is really impressive...

I have actually driven a few times into ravines, desert type terrian is full of them, most of the time if you are hauling ass cross country you do not see them until it is to late, this is where a good driver proves his worth to the crew.

 

[Marc 1]

I have actually driven a few times into ravines, desert type terrian is full of them, most of the time if you are hauling ass cross country you do not see them until it is to late, this is where a good driver proves his worth to the crew.

Experience only in buckets (M113's) but one of our greatest worries were tree stumps obscured by long grass - the sudden stop was errr...Interesting apparently. Never happened to me personnally , but you'd hear stories about exactly these sorts of impacts by crews doing battle runs up at Shoalwater Bay.

 

[old faithful]

Experience only in buckets (M113's) but one of our greatest worries were tree stumps obscured by long grass - the sudden stop was errr...Interesting apparently. Never happened to me personnally , but you'd hear stories about exactly these sorts of impacts by crews doing battle runs up at Shoalwater Bay.

LOL. thats why 5/7 RAR drivers look like boxers, knock out their front teeth on the dash!

 

[eckherl]

I could see that with the old reliable tin cans, terrible steering mechanism along with driver positioning doesn`t give a whole lot of reaction time. I saw what happened to a driver once that did not have his hatch locked in place during a FTX, OUCH!

 

[Waylander]

Usually all Leo gunners have small scars above their eyes because of that.
Once a tank of my platoon ran into a ditch and stopped violently out of full cross country speed.
The gunner's seat came loose and he got thrown through the crew compartment.
Went to the hospital with a concussion...

But hey, isn't it fun to tank...

 

[sgtgunn]

Something similiar happened to a guy in my company during a CMTC rotation. He was the loader, and was standing up in the loaders hatch manning the M240 MG and the tank slammed into a "dip" in the ground. The safety pin was not in the latch the holds the hatch locked open, and it came loose. The hatch slammed down on this guys head, knocking him down inside the turret. As he fell, he instinctively grabbed the edges of the hatch opening to stop his fall - the spring loaded hatch bounced back open - failed to latch - and slammed back down again on his hands, breaking 4 fingers on each hand. Ouch.

The moral of the story? Check those safety pins!

And yes - tanking is FUN!

Adrian

I could see that with the old reliable tin cans, terrible steering mechanism along with driver positioning doesn`t give a whole lot of reaction time. I saw what happened to a driver once that did not have his hatch locked in place during a FTX, OUCH!

 

[ejectmailman]

so finally today the army rang me. they have been looking for my paperwork for about 4 months and now they have found it everything can proceed. looks like im going to basic training in november and then on to school of armour afterwards. thats ok because im not the fittest at the moment so i have time to prepare. what sort of training should i be doing besides the regular pushups, running and sit ups. do you need to be super strong in any area to be a tank crewman?

also is there any other things i should be studying? like map reading or anything that could help me in regards to being a driver?

thanks heaps and keep the replies coming, they make interesting reading.

 

[eckherl]

so finally today the army rang me. they have been looking for my paperwork for about 4 months and now they have found it everything can proceed. looks like im going to basic training in november and then on to school of armour afterwards. thats ok because im not the fittest at the moment so i have time to prepare. what sort of training should i be doing besides the regular pushups, running and sit ups. do you need to be super strong in any area to be a tank crewman?

also is there any other things i should be studying? like map reading or anything that could help me in regards to being a driver?

thanks heaps and keep the replies coming, they make interesting reading.

For physical fitness you should be fine for what they are going to put you thru during basic training and ait, just be sure to on occasion to work with the 120mm dummy rounds (practice with HEAT because they are heavier), especially for timed loading.

Good land navigation skills is a plus also, especially when conducting mounted warfare, a good tank driver during a crew briefing can look at a map and get a good feel for what type of terrian that you will be moving thru and learn the contours of the terrian, my last tank driver was just amazing and knew actually how to use the terrian to our advantage to move and not present ourselves as a target, never had to yell at him for sky linning our tank. You can also assist your TC with land navigation when positioned at the loaders station.

 

[Marc 1]

so finally today the army rang me. they have been looking for my paperwork for about 4 months and now they have found it everything can proceed. looks like im going to basic training in november and then on to school of armour afterwards. thats ok because im not the fittest at the moment so i have time to prepare. what sort of training should i be doing besides the regular pushups, running and sit ups. do you need to be super strong in any area to be a tank crewman?

also is there any other things i should be studying? like map reading or anything that could help me in regards to being a driver?

thanks heaps and keep the replies coming, they make interesting reading.

I agree with eckherl, the army will ensure you get the fitness you need if necessary the hard way. So you don't have to do it the hard way, the fitter you are the better you'll cope - why make it hard? That said, don't do anything stupid and bust a knee or something else that's totally debilitating.

Feel free to bone up on some of the basics, but get the right advice first (nothing worse than learning the wrong thing because you found it on the net (the military uses Mils for instance not degrees when working with bearings). The army training systems are geared to teach someone everything they need to know from scratch, so if you are of average inteligence you should be fine. If you do a little extra work before going to Kapooka, don't be too quick to start answering all the questions - you'll just end up drawing unwanted attention to yourself from instructors (who may consider you a smartarse or know it all) and your now 'ex' mates.

Be on time, be a team player, have the answers if asked have a 'can do' attitude, don't lie and look after your mates. That's not a bad starting point.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

 

[sgtgunn]

so finally today the army rang me. they have been looking for my paperwork for about 4 months and now they have found it everything can proceed. looks like im going to basic training in november and then on to school of armour afterwards. thats ok because im not the fittest at the moment so i have time to prepare. what sort of training should i be doing besides the regular pushups, running and sit ups. do you need to be super strong in any area to be a tank crewman?

also is there any other things i should be studying? like map reading or anything that could help me in regards to being a driver?

thanks heaps and keep the replies coming, they make interesting reading.

I can't comment specifically on the Australian Army's basic training - but if it is anything like the US Army's (I imagine there are a great number of similarities) the better cardiovascular shape you are in when you go, the easier your life is going to be during training. Build up your endurance, and do a lot of running (just don't go crazy and over train and hurt yourself). I would imagine a good basic understanding of the rank structure, organization, and customs and courtisies of the Australian Army will help as well. There is a fair bit of rote memorization in the first few weeks of US Army Basic Combat Training - rank, chain of command, general orders, army history, army values, etc. and knowing some of that stuff in advance certainly helps - but like the previous poster mentioned - don't show off. The nail that sticks up gets the hammer. The best thing your drill sergeant can say to you on graduation day is "Who the hell are you?".

Adrian

 

[Marc 1]

The best thing your drill sergeant can say to you on graduation day is "Who the hell are you?".

We used to have an expression for it - be a 'grey' man - just blend in. Basic training is not the place to start launching your career as the next Chief of the Defence Force. There will be plenty of time later in your career for that!

 

[ejectmailman]

thanks guys, i have been to kapooka (basic training) before back when i was in the army reserve. back then it was the same training as the full timers, but i think they have changed it now. not the nicest place i've ever been too but i have a pretty good understanding of what to expect. i have been out for too long so they are sending me back there again unfortunately. hopefully ill get up-squaded so i dont have to stay there as long.

i heard something about a vest that gets issued to abrams crew to keep them cool? sgtgunn mentioned it, but i also heard it from another army guy in australia. can anyone elaborate on how it works? its gets really hot up in darwin so hopefully they work well!

 

[eckherl]

thanks guys, i have been to kapooka (basic training) before back when i was in the army reserve. back then it was the same training as the full timers, but i think they have changed it now. not the nicest place i've ever been too but i have a pretty good understanding of what to expect. i have been out for too long so they are sending me back there again unfortunately. hopefully ill get up-squaded so i dont have to stay there as long.

i heard something about a vest that gets issued to abrams crew to keep them cool? sgtgunn mentioned it, but i also heard it from another army guy in australia. can anyone elaborate on how it works? its gets really hot up in darwin so hopefully they work well!

Yes, there is a cooling vest that you can plug into the gas particulate unit, you will really need this if Australia has issued the U.S spalling vests as standard issue to its crewmembers.

Should of been a little more specific inregards to the gas particulate unit, this is part of the NBC main system, each crew member has two hook up points, one for the vest and one for your NBC mask.

 

[ejectmailman]

Yes, there is a cooling vest that you can plug into the gas particulate unit, you will really need this if Australia has issued the U.S spalling vests as standard issue to its crewmembers.

Should of been a little more specific inregards to the gas particulate unit, this is part of the NBC main system, each crew member has two hook up points, one for the vest and one for your NBC mask.

so the vest works by pumping cold air through it? what sort of temperature drop can be achieved? if its really hot outside, im talking in the range of 35-40 degress celcius (not sure what this is in farenheit) would this vest keep you comfortable inside? have you ever been uncomfortably hot whilst inside the abrams?

 

[eckherl]

so the vest works by pumping cold air through it? what sort of temperature drop can be achieved? if its really hot outside, im talking in the range of 35-40 degress celcius (not sure what this is in farenheit) would this vest keep you comfortable inside? have you ever been uncomfortably hot whilst inside the abrams?

Pumping cool air is more like it, vest should at least drop the temperature to a tolerable level to perform you crew duties. And yes I have been uncomfortable inside a M1 series, especially after firing a whole combat load or going thru Mop 4 drills. People do not understand the amount of heat that gets generated inside of a tank turret during firing engagements, especially when you are firing alot of rounds, a combustable tank round burns at a average temperature of 3600 degrees plus throw in the factor of your FCS and turret power. Anyone would be happy to have a cooling vest and a over pressure system.

If you keep yourself in good physical shape and force your self and your team mates to drink plenty of water you will be just fine, there are other things that will be on your mind while you are in a hostile environment.

 

[ryano1989]

driving

1. ok here is what i would like to know...how exactly do you drve the abrams, it seems pretty straight forward put it in gear, twist throttle to go, turn left/right.....but where are the brakes!!!???

 

[eckherl]

1. ok here is what i would like to know...how exactly do you drve the abrams, it seems pretty straight forward put it in gear, twist throttle to go, turn left/right.....but where are the brakes!!!???

On the floor, and they can be most sensitive.

 

[ryano1989]

On the floor, and they can be most sensitive.

ok thanks, i saw a youtube video with a pedal on the floor and i sort of figured it was brakes i just wasn't sure thans tho

 

[shag]

Cooling vests seems like cool idea! In T-90s here they chose to install ACs instead definetly less energy efficient. Although I believe it also had something to do with the electronics and TI frying up in the heat of desert.

 

[Waylander]

Cooling vests are a poor mans AC and defenitely are less efficient at keeping the temperature at a sustainable level and, as you said, do nothing to protect the electronics.