What is being a tanker like?

>>35160701

Loud, cramped, dirty, noisy, and fun.

>>35160720
Sounds a lot better than being a grunt, though I also heard that tankers are expected to pull all-nighters when on-mission. How much would that affect their response times, even taking into the adreneline rush?

>>35160701
You spend 9 months doing nothing but work in the motorpool, 2-4 weeks of gunnery, then 1-2 months of random ftx and ntc.

>>35160793
>are expected to pull all-nighters when on-mission
Yeah grunts as well. Hell every combat arms

>>35160793

Literally every combat arms does that. I went 6 months on 2 hours of non-consecutive sleep a day at one point.

And to answer your question, it sends you into this weird nihilistic fugue state that instantly disappears when the adrenaline dump hits your body.

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Tankers are combat arms, truck drivers are not, the difference is a 120mm gun. In GWOT the tanks mostly sat around and looked scary.

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>>35160720
>>35160872
This actually sounds pretty alright, for the sake of getting to say you ride around in a rolling armored "fuck you" for a living.

What's the protocol for training for various positions? I have to assume it's a limited pool, since I can't imagine the kind of person who would want to be a loader as opposed to any other position.

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>>35161282
I always enjoyed hearing people whine about how cramped a certain armored vehicle was. Always seemed like their was always something worse. The Bradley turret for example, you feel like the meat in a metal sandwich. The abrams is very roomy by comparison. The M109 paladin is big enough to hold an orgy in.

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>>35161330
>It can always be worse

>>35161282
The problem is you spend the least amount of time riding around, that is why people hate it.

If you enlist, then you train as a armor crewman. You will start out as a loader or driver depending on which position is open at the time in the unit you go to. Then when you become a senior e-4 or e-5 you will become a gunner, senior e-5 and above will be tank commanders.

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cramped inside a death machine with other lolis

>>35160872
>You spend 9 months doing nothing but work in the motorpool, 2-4 weeks of gunnery, then 1-2 months of random ftx and ntc.
/thread

>>35160917
>And to answer your question, it sends you into this weird nihilistic fugue state that instantly disappears when the adrenaline dump hits your body.
It made me start sleep walking.

>>35160701
>cardboard armor
lol fucking americans cannot into real tank

>>35161330
Yeah the turret is small but the back is roomy as shit. We called it the armored station wagon.

>>35161548
>what is a thermal identification panel?
gr8 b8 m8

>>35161569
lol fucking american tries to defend FUCKING CARDBOARD ARMOR

>>35160894
>>35160917
This doesn't apply to pilots right? I assume aviation is comfier in general even for attack/fighter pilots?

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>>35160701
LOL This is real crew man in american army. fucking joke americans

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>>35160720
>tfw have to sleep next to shaky humidifier, can't sleep without noise
>live in 2 room apartment, moved everything into small bedroom where I sleep, eat, cook, lurk all day
Shit, I thought that 1 way trip to mars sounded good

>>35160701
1) Just like every other combat arms branch. Weeks of boredom combined with few days of adrenaline

2) Fucking heaven when you're a dude whos really into heavy machinery, offroading and mechanic work

As a modern tanker you will spend lots of time in the simulator. But after a few hours it becomes "real" to you because you sit in a pretty cool simulator.


You will learn a shitton about gunnery and engines and honestly NOTHING beats rushing over a muddy field with 1500hp under your ass. You will feel like
"I am become death, destroyer of worlds"
because no matter how vulnerable tanks are to ATGMs, youre still the tip of the spear and they teach you to love it

The downsides:

- Even western tanks are somewhat cramped and you will alaways have bruises and stuff

- In erxercises or combat you may sit in the tank for several days (worse under simulated NBC conditions) this WILL suck and it also will suck that you have to deal with the other three dudes of your crew. Its a bit like a super cramped small-crew submarine so you'll get to know each and every story of your comrades

- Working on a tank is TOUGH because even the light pieces are heavy as fuck. During my first four years I got three hernias from all that heavy shit (I got that mesh stuff sewn into my body so there cant be hernias anymore). Especially if youre driver or loader you will bear the heaviest stuff but dont expect it to get much better when you become gunner or commander

- after exercises, YOU have to clean the tank. Imagine cleaning some redneck mudding monster truck - multiply by 1000 and you get the idea.

>>35161678
They get crew rest. Same with the mechanics to an extent. You don't want someone working on explosives and aircraft with the responses and decision making of someone drunk.

What the FUCK /k/

>best damn job I've ever had

>>35160701
>>35160701
>be grunt across the quad from tanks
>have a battalion hump on a 96 weekend
>wake up at 3 am for formation and to line up at the armory
>armory guy is asleep come back in an hour
>sitting on packs
>4 am get rifles sitting on packs in quad
>5 am waiting on other companies to get rifles
>600am hey can we get chow for the guys? we'll post a gear guard for rifles
FUCK YOU SIT ON YOUR PACKS
>630 am sun coming up , tanker plt in rainbow pt formation, high number of blacks, they proceed to play a full football game shucking and jiving laughing while i sit on my pack
>730 am they have a half ass formation, 2 min libo brief and get let go
>tanker parking lot is empty by 830 am
>still siting on pack
>9am heard the HQ company is waiting for the Battlaion cmdr to show up
>930 bat cmmdr shows up do a 5km on base no shit
>get done around 11am
>hq comapny turns in rifles
>hey can we turn in our rifles?
nope you gotta clean them till lunch is over

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>>35161678
Pilots get a ton of rest, even alert stations are designed to be cozy as fuck so you can relax between shit hitting the fan. It's the long distance flights which are brutal, particularly in a single seater aircraft.

>The gut cramping dread of knowing you've been tagged for a Transatlantic.

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I was a gunner. On EX you sit and wait for the infantry to do their stuff because having armor roll in and blow everything to shit isn't good training.

On deployment you drive around then sit waiting till you can find something to blow up. The infantry spend the first part of a tour trying to do everything on their own. Then after a while they realize you can just have the tank roll in and blow everything to shit.

In garrison you are doing three main tasks;
Trying to fix broken vehicles if you got broken stuff.
Getting sent off to do every random task that comes up because hey these guys are not doing anything.
Trying like mad to avoid having to fix stuff or getting tasked to do random crap.

Simulators are too much work for the 2 trained operators to run and it would make too much sense to just train everyone how to run them. So you don't get to fuck around in sim unless a gunner course is running and they need people to make sure the sims still work.

Live fire is limited to gun courses, work up training, or pre ex checks to see if anyone can remember how to zero the main gun and the fire control computer.

PT is split between tankers that think running should be limited to a short sprint to a vehicle, and those that want to go and do all the physical training competitions with the infantry and combat engineers.

>>35162560
Whats your opinion about PT. In Mali I crewed an AMX but being able to have the versatility not limited to the vehicle seemed useful(even in 50C)

>>35160701
If you're taller that 5 foot, hell.

>>35162560
shouldn't pt be you guys in the gym next to the water dogs to get big but not to big so you can lift the tank parts without getting hernias? why is everything run run run.

Otter mode is cool but shieeet son my knees and shins.

>>35162595
Does that mean all tankers are manlets? It would explain a thing or two.

>>35162605
>why is everything run run run.
Because it takes zero effort to organize running as PT.

>>35162582
>Whats your opinion about PT.
No amount of PT will make a tiny guy have a better time trying to break track or mount a drive sprocket.
Big guys can already lift the heavy the gear and swing hammers so doing cross fit isn't doing anything but making them angry.

Just being active and working is enough PT for most armored.

>>35162616
>Does that mean all tankers are manlets? It would explain a thing or two.
Exact same distribution of tall and short, skinny and fat as any other military unit.

Lets see, you're stuck inside a small metalbox with 5 other sweaty men.

Its like proto-navy, with just as much homoeroticism.

Tankers any tips for infantry when we are talking to you on the phone box outside?

What do you want to know? the big picture? Some old haji is walking between our lines with an apple cart and we havent shooed him away yet? your fuel cap door is open?

>>35162630
Good point. I hated doing more than my job in the afternoon after baking in the sun all day doing maintenance. something something esprit de corps.

>>35162668
>cooperating with tankfags
>ever

>>35162668
Yeah, stuff like

>We got fuccbois in the two story brown building at the far left of the next intersection. DON'T SHOOT THAT BUILDING.

and

>HOLY SHIT DO YOU NOT SEE THAT NIGNOG WITH THE RPG DOWN THE ROAD KILL THE FUCKER YOU DUMB FUCKS.

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>>35160701
About 80% of the time it sucks. You are rushed into training, you are rushed through services, you are rushed though a lot of stuff that matters and if you fucking suck you will fail.
The other 20% of the time it's amazing and you will love it.
>>35161716
That is SFC Durgin and he will ass fuck you till you die you slavic squat shitting retard.

>>35162668
I have never had a TIP that actually worked.

AND RRRRRR IS FOR REEEEETARD.

TAAAAANKERS ARE REEEEETARDS.

>>35162668
Nothing goes as planned, but knowing whats going on with pickup trucks was a plus

>>35160720
>fun

>>35162560
>gatling style 300mm cannons
peepee status: hardened

>>35162442
what ever loving kind of fuckery was going on and how come the arms room NCO wasnt 15'd over that shit, your LT or Cpatain should be ashamed of themselves, dam it should had at least hot A's or in company MWR money used so you guys get a decent breakfast, or at least had weapon guards, probably some stupid 1st sergeant or sergeant major being pissed

>>35162560
are you kidding me they made it seem like armor was infantry light at OCS land wha the fuck

>>35163212
average day fuckery..i dont get what you mean. thats a normal day.

I'm 6'4", 170 lbs and can lift/carry roughly 80-100 pounds depending on how easy it is to handle, am I immediately dq'd or is this worth looking into more?

>>35162734

Sounds like Arma

>>35162100
>can't sleep without noise
You are not human. I feel a murderous urge when I'm prevented to sleep by noises.

>>35161569

always wondered how the hell is that thing is supposed to deter guided weapons? isn't a tank a giant blob of contrasting heat to any thermal optics?

>>35161176

DoD announces experiment, all infantrymen out on patrol in urban areas will be armed with pen flare launchers instead of their usual service weapons

>>35163682
6'4 tallfag here too,my cardios a little fucked since Im really into weightlifting but I pass military standards.

I wanna do military for a couple years while im young and for the benefits,just not really sure what job I want.
Being a tank crew sounds fun to me,but I feel like im too fucking tall for it

>>35166918

This isn't the 50s or the Soviet Union, western tanks can fit non-manlets just fine, however being a manlet makes it less awkward

>>35163682
6'2 And served in the 1 REC cramped in an AMX. you'll be fine whatever the standards are for what im assuming is usdod

>>35166821
The key may be that it's called an identification panel, not a jammer or anything like that. The idea is probably that the GI sitting there with an IR sight aiming a big fuckoff gun or ATGM will see it and not fire.

>>35162535
So, essentially it's like flying economy class?

>>35162560
You sound Canadian.

>>35166821
I hope this is bait.

>>35163682
Yeah you'll be able to enlist barring any medical shit. You'll meet whatever standard they have for you by the time you finish OSUT.

>>35162560
>>35163170
Image source: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Q1n4

>>35162605
>why is everything run run
cuz cardio is the #1 factor in how much work a guy can do before getting fatigued. Try doing a 48 hour tank battle being bear mode

>>35168561
Fitter people tend to stay alert for longer too, it is mental as well as physical.