Tanks take 'grunt' out of grunt work

Patrols are dangerous in Mahmudiyah, but thanks to a whole lot of rolling steel, they're a little safer for the Marines of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.

A detachment from B Company, 1st Tank Bn., recently joined the regiment and brought their 70-ton M-1A1 Abram tanks with them. These tanks and their crews ease the dangers of patrolling in the area.

"If we can save a Marine's life by leveling a building so he doesn't have to go into it, we've done our oh, said 1st Lt. Matthew A. Stiger, a 25-year-old tank platoon commander from Colorado Springs, Colo.

Part of the success of using tanks comes from the lasting effects of Saddam Hussein's regime, Stiger said. The regime would often park a tank in the middle of a town as a symbol of Saddam's power. Tanks have a similar effect on Iraqi insurgents today

"It's kind of a letdown when we get called to a firefight," Stiger said. "When (terrorists) see our tanks, they usually scatter."

Infantrymen, men are glad to have the tanks aboard. Their 120-millimeter smoothbore cannons, capable of striking the enemy at 4,000 meters, makes the tank a "howitzer with treads."

"Instead of waiting to go through all the channels to call for a fire mission, we've got the tanks right there with us," said Lance Cpl. Jaime A. Hurtado, a 21-year-old G Co. rifleman from Queens, N.Y. "The bad guys know they're about to get (messed) up when they see the tanks rolling in."

The infantry is focused on keeping the major supply route near their camp open. This allows supplies to make their way into major cities like Baghdad and Fallujah. The tanks are key tools to the success of that mission because of their presence, their firepower and the punishment they can take.

"One day we were ambushed and insurgents shot thirteen rocket-propelled grenades at one tank, Stiger said. "No one inside the tank was injured. That's our company's record for the (most) fire a tank has taken."

The tanks' durability is due to its thick outer sheet of armor. This makes it a heavy and dangerous weapon, even for those inside it.

"Anything you do wrong with a tank could kill you," said Lance Cpl. Victor F. Lopez, a 21 -year-old tank crewman from Seattle. "The gun has a 13-inch recoil on it, so if you're not in the right spot inside the tank when it fires it could take your head off. It's a big machine with a bunch of human parts operating it. We all have to be careful and act as a team at all times."

He respects the tank he helps control and he enjoys his job, Lopez said. Although temperatures can reach more than 110 degrees on a hot day, tank Marines wouldn't trade their jobs with those of the infantrymen they protect.

"We have a saying: 'We don't carry our weapon. Our weapon carries us,'" Lopez said. "One of the best parts of our job is that we don't have to walk to battle."

But, it's not an easy ride. "Tank crewmen constantly practice so they can identify a target, load and fire a round as quickly as possible.

Responding quickly and accurately is what the infantrymen count on the tanks to do. Tank crewmen work hard to be an asset to the battalion.

"With our heavy machine guns and tanks, the enemy would have to be stupid to mess with us," Hurtado said.

M-1A1 Abram Tank

Length, Gun Forward: 385 inches

Width: 144 inches

Height: 114 inches without deep water fording kit

Weight fully armed: 67.7 tons

Armament:

Main Weapon: 120 mm M-256 main gun

Commander's Weapon: M-2.50-caliber machine gun

Loader's Weapon: 7.62 mm M-240 machine gun

Coaxial Weapon: 7.62 mm M-240 machine gun

Cruising Range:

289 miles without NBC system, 279 miles with NBC system

Speed:

Maximum: 42 mph (governed)

Cross Country: 30 mph

Ground clearance: 19 inches

Obstacle Crossing:

Vertical: 42 inches

Trench: 9 feet wide

Slope: 60 degrees at 4.5 mph

Units:

Two active duty battalions and two reserve battalions

Crew:

A four-man crew composed of a driver, loader, gunner, and tank commander.

Warheads:

M-1A1 tank is capable of delivering both kinetic energy (sabot) and chemical energy (heat) rounds.

Unit Replacement Cost: $4,300,000

Inventory:

403

Information pulled from Marine Corps Fact File at www.marines.mil/factfile.nsf/AVE?openview@count=3000.

Cpl. Shawn C. Rhodes

CAMP MAHMUDIYAH, Iraq

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Marine Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group