Your understanding of the word "sociopath" is sketchy. He often comes off as spartan, stoic, certainly, those are non synonymous with sociopath, just sayin'..
You can literally see the flood of memories coursing through The Chieftain's veins as he reacquaints himself with the Abrams. This bloke is the real deal.....
I visited my old ship (USS Midway) after she became a museum ship, and the first thing that hit me at the top of the gangplank was the smell. Some combination of paint, grease, sweat, fuel, who knows what ... there was a second or two where I was really confused about when I was.
@@TheSchultinator I'd pay real money to see a group of tanks performing a charge like that. (With a screaming sword wielding officer at the commanders hatch of course)
>A video where The Chieftain has a mid-life crisis for half the video while he rambles somewhat about the Abrams This is the reason why I subscribed to this channel
You can really tell he enjoyed this. Just look at the amount of times he luaghed and smiled as he reminisced about the crew and the tank. You can tell he really had fun doing this
When I dug a tank ditch for an Abrams I told the TC that i was more impressed with their tank than my dozer. He invited me inside and being a smaller guy I fit just fine in the turret. He let me take control of the gun and took me on a nice tour of the inside. Probably one of the coolest moments of my army career. I have the video of the tank and the ditch on my channel.
I remember sitting in my Stryker watching this on my last field problem before I left active duty and not understanding how being in a vehicle you spent so much time in could affect someone like that. Until a couple days ago when I got to show my girlfriend around what had once been my second home. I got to sit in the driver's seat and it was like I was an 18 year old kid who was more terrified of my VC than the enemy all over again. I would point out something and just break into a 30 minute story about it. It's a weird feeling that I now fully understand.
I love how this video starts by him casually talking about how a full sized rifle round missed his head by a few inches. He calmly reminisces about how close some guy came to shooting him in the face. This guy is a legend lmao.
My dads told me a lotta stories like that. Says if you cant get that dark humour or "squadie humour",where you can laugh at and downplay these things, you would go mad very fast.
@@looinrims From what I heard it gives you a huge adrenaline rush and euphoria - fits my experience, because mad laughing was my own reaction to nearly dying. Was being nearly run over by a car at high speeds working as a bicycle messenger. Misjudged the aproach speed of the car, I was to blame. He missed me by maybe 2-3 meters. Best time of my life. :) BTW: Basically all Winston quotes are 100% correct observations on life. Dude had it figured out, I adore him. Greetings from Germany
When he talked about almost getting his arm chopped off and he mentions going out to take a break it reminds me how the Chieftain is just so remarkably human and isn't ashamed to admit it. I love this man.
To be fair, given it's an A1, it was probably put there in the early-to-mid 1990s and the Marines just kept redoing it because Top told them in no uncertain terms that they weren't allowed to draw dicks on the cannon (which must've really confused said Marines when they had any writing implement) and they had no idea what else to write/draw.
@@DiggingForFacts I'll rarely stand up for the Marines but for this I'll take exception. The crew of this tank lost their TC in 2007 to an IED. The turret was pulled and the hull languished in Quantico for a while. When the turret you see here was put on, it didn't have the markings on it. Shortly after we shot the video with the crew here in the museum, the gunner (I think it was the gunner) noticed that the name was missing. So he came back and put the name on the tank again, just as it was in 2007. Great group of guys, and it definitely wasn't done closed-fist with a crayon. ;)
That sudden look as the memory shoots forward and you're lost in it for a moment. Then the sadness upon the realization that it is indeed just a memory of days past.
As a former M1 tanker I have to agree the memories never go away. Even though the movie Fury was set in WWII the sentiment is the same "Best job in the world"
Any job in the Army.. 15+ years RCEME. Cold, wet, working all night in cramped quarters (heater in a Leo 1 anyone) , knees shot, neck fused... Still, Best job I ever had... Smile of recognition on my face as I see Chieftain travel back in time...
I can totally understand how a vehicle could bring back such memories. I'm 57 years old and I served on both the M60a3 and the M1A1 tanks, and I could vividly remember the majority of the things on both vehicles. For 10 years of my life I lived and breathed tank life. Those were the days, and I miss them.
I am a Brit and served in the British Army of the Rhine first as section commander on an AFV 432 and then as a section commander in the Recce platoon using a Scimitar. I am now 66 years old, around 5 years ago I was in Las Vegas and decided to have a range day with my brother. We turned up at the range a little early, our instructor ex-US Army told us to wait and suggested we look around the armoured vehicle display they had. We duly did and came across a couple of AFV 432 and a Scimitar we spent ages going over them, it was as if we had just done it the day before. The instructor came across to find us and we spent the next 1 to 2 hours going over our vehicles. Turns out he had been in Germany around the same time on M60s. We missed the start of our range time, did we care did he care not a jot. It was a great 2 hours just telling tall tales and reminiscing. We went out for a meal and drink with him and his friends that night. I can't say our wives were impressed because they must have been bored rigid listening to our bullshit.
So Chieftain are you going to start doing a story time as well? I'd love to hear how you got one over on the Army and got through the height restriction.
Getting a waiver isn't that hard depending on whether it's a "life or limb" issue or not. We had an F-4 RIO that was 6'6" or so (call sign "Too Tall"), way over the limit. He got waivered even though he was at risk of losing his legs from the knee down if he had to eject. He also spent 8 months on the boat stooped over. The overheads are at about 5'8" in most spaces, if you're taller you have to bend a lot or risk concussion. I've also got a friend who couldn't get a waiver for A-4s since scooters have tiny cockpits.
I was deemed non-rated because my sitting height was to much- - it was 42"/107cm and the height of the widget on the seat that breaks the canopy if it doesn't eject before you is 38"/96.5. That meant if I were to eject and the canopy did not separate, the canopy would likely break my head or neck. In the wisdom of the Air Force, I could fly helicopters (they have no ejection and more room), but my vision was not good enough.
When women first were cadets at the Air Force Academy, I remember sitting at a dining table in Mitchel Hall when a female gymnast marched up to me and asked permission to join the table (late). I was looking slightly down into her eyes.
Chieftan, start a series where you talk to crew members from the various different countries and tanks. Interview them in the tanks they served in, just like you, they will start remembering all the stories as you move about the tank and talk about the various systems. The different stories and perspectives about the tanks and crew experiences need to get recorded or they will likely get lost to history. Just like this video, it is infinitely interesting to hear how you spent your down time as well as action stories and all the mods you came up with along the way.
There's a RU-vid channel like what your describing, but only for aircraft. Aircrew Interview is the name. Check it out, great stories of great men and their aircraft. It's beautiful honestly.
7:35 [Irish man named after a British tank that drives an American tank discovers how Americans operate with firearms] "BUT, WAIT, THERE'S MORE!" (A literal Ginsu moment when they also give them bayonets) Honestly, it's almost humorous (well, surely, not at the time) how much stuff they expect tankers to be able to cram into a tank that wasn't designed to have in the first place. Give it time and tankers will be the first ones that learn how to fold space time in order to cram extra shit inside the tank.
Do you know the only difference between a fairy tale and a war story? A fairy tale starts: "Once upon a time... A war story starts: "Now this is no shit..."
Boredom can be deadly. Shortly after I got out in mid-95, my unit had a serious 'training accident'. An E5 on a Bradley had told a couple of spanking-new E1s that the 25mm round was 'safe' until it had traveled some distance from the barrel after being fired. Something he told the privates led them to believe that it couldn't be fired outside the gun. Sooo.. These two cherries grab a 25mm round, go out back of the M2, and set it off. One held the shell while the other took a hammer and screwdriver to the primer. One of them lost an arm, the other lost both hands. The sergeant was courtmartialed the next day and the two privates were chaptered out on medical. They were very lucky they weren't killed outright. Two object lessons here are: _boredom can be deadly_ and _be very careful what you tell a noob. They're going to field-test and see for themselves._
@@slateslavens the Sergeant really shouldn't have been court martialed. I know hes supposed to watch over his squad but he cant watch them 24/7 like they are infants (i hear soldiers act like it sometimes but thats not the point). That will follow him his entire life
I disagree. On a field exercise; or more importantly, a deployment, the sergeant's job is _exactly_ to watch over privates as if they are infants. When you combine the curiosity of a brand-new infantryman with the privates specifically testing what the sergeant had told them literally moments before, the outcome is all but inevitable. Yes, these pranks go on all the time in the army. I recall numerous times we sent privates, ignorant NCOs and even a few new officers out hunting for things like 'squelch grease' and 'lock washer keys', but an E5 serving on a Bradley crew for his entire military career should have absolutely known better.He should have known that a gun is a gun is a gun. A cartridge for _any_ gun is extremely dangerous when set off outside of the breech of the gun it is intended to be used in. There is absolutely nothing to contain the explosion/burn of the powder inside the casing. You wouldn't be stupid enough to set a fire cracker off in your hand, so why a 25mm shell?Yes, the cherries should have known better too if they had given half a second's thought to it, and doing so is honestly why it hadn't happened before. That said, the cherries just spent eight to eleven weeks being taught to a take an senior NCO at their word.All around, this was a learning experience for the entire post. The privates involved will spend the rest of their lives living with the consequences of 'not thinking shit through'. The NCO involved, along with all of his contemporaries, will give a moments pause before they ply a 'prank' on another soldier, especially one subordinate to them.
@@slateslavens I think the E5 meant that the warhead won't prime for HE shells before some distance, while the freshmen took it too literally, and decided that spanking a live round is a good idea
Watching you with this tank brought back memories of watching my dad when he got his hands on a water cooled Browning for the first time in many years after the Pacific. He had that same look in his eyes as if the intervening years had simply melted away and he was 23 again, thanks,
A water cooled Browning? The last time they used those was in WWI, as far as I am aware. M1917. Air cooled M1919 was standard by WWII, and had been for 20 years. Unless you mean the M2 .50 shipboard AA gun.
TheKaisTzar It’d be the worst. David Fletcher is excellent and scholarly. Lindybeige is a chauvinist hack who would tell you that the M1 Abrams was inspired by the L7 cannon, and that the Soviets never attacked NATO because they were afraid of the Bren gun.
Sadly, the brass eventually caught on to the tactic of securing "unauthorized" items in vehicles before heading Stateside. By the time my unit headed back, all of the vehicles were sent directly to the manufacturers to be refurbished (and everyone was clearly informed that they wouldn't be getting the same vehicle back "so don't bother").
They must have gotten lazier in recent years. When we came back from Iraq in 1991 they had customs officers going over every little nook and cranny of our vehicles - opening everything they could open, fishing around in blind spots and fuel tanks with coat hangers, inspecting everything that got loaded onto them before loading it. Not sure how they'd miss an entire storage area!
It's something civilians and gamers don't get. The tank is your home, your crew is like family. Its not something you do for 8 hours and then go home. We would go for days without getting off the tank. And you got to know your crew intimately. I don't know if guys in different branches had the same commeradery.
I can relate-albeit in a different vehicle. As a combat engineer my 'home' was an M113A3. Sharing that thing with your 7-8 man squad was pretty cramped-but we managed. The idea of 'personal space' does not exist. All the times I'd see guys snoring away with their heads rolled over onto the other guy's shoulder...no worries. I felt deluxe when I was picked to drive our platoon commander around-it was just me and him with a whole command vehicle to ourselves and it felt great.
Never served in a tank, I was an infantry shmuck. I will always remember when we were working with tanks (part of what got me into them). Some mix up occurred and they got to the meet up before us. The tanks just went ahead and started the operation and had been operating for about an hour before we arrived and they had already killed over 100 enemy combatants!!!
'Ah! And if you look carefully; you can see this magnificent specimen in his home environment. Despite his great height you'll note the grace with which he moves around the confines of his lair...'
Fascinating! My son was a tanker (2/37 Armor) and I have a photo of him with a shotgun. However, he said they turned in their pistols and everyone got a carbine or rifle. The rifle was referred to as a musket. He was in Iraq for 15 months and for the last few months was attached to a Marine Corps unit. They also had Navy bomb disposal people. Being armor, he took his training at Ft. Knox, which was the same place the both my father and I took our basic training.
Yes I was one of the tall Tankers 6'4 1/2" . The hardest position for me to serve in was the Gunner and did that for 5 years, until I got promoted to SSG Tank Commander, knee pain was one of the main reasons for getting out of that Gunner's seat.
No, it'd be a Browning M1919, which was made just in time for WWI to end before it could be mass-produced and instead it was jammed into pretty much every US armoured vehicle and used as the US's light/medium machine gun until the M60 came out
I am so glad that guy missed you Chief you really are the most knowledgeable person alive today regarding historic tanks and that is really something. If it wasn't you i don't know if anyone would have done what you have done for those interested in armored warfare in the historical community. Your service and what you do today is really great. Thank you for your hard work and I am very glad you took the time to talk about someone who wasn't as lucky as you to escape their brush with death and I am happy to see the museum is so accommodating to his family and battle brothers.
War Thunder is currently implementing a mechanic where the loading speed depends on if you have ammunition in your ready rack or not (and if you're not in combat for a while, the loader will start to move ammunition from other storage to the ready rack). A nice feature I think =)
It's really interesting to watch you telling us about tanks. In other circumstances we could watch at each other through gun sights, which, I'm glad, didn't happen. Greetings from Russia=)
Absolutely. Had it happened, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be around to watch this video, considering I'm sitting right in the middle of Germany. I've been working with a Russian guy for a couple of years now and we got along great, but to think that, had I been born earlier, I might have been drafted and ordered to shoot him (or fellow Germans) . . . I guess it would be great if we had leaders who'd try to not fuck it all up for us.
This is the best Chieftain video yet. You can see the love and reverence in his face the entire time. The moment where he was lost thinking about his crew was the best moment in this channels history.
I only have two Abrams stories. Was doing a patrol on Pendleton crossing a road cut and heard a faint whine, we got out of the road into the bushes and an M1 came around the corner not 50 yds away, only then did we hear the mechanical track noises. That turbine is ghost quiet from the front. As it passed a few feet away the heat went from the normal oppressive to briefly frightening. My second involved my team "leading" an assault in Humvees (so-called "mounted reconnaisance") in 29 Palms. As we came out of the canyon after clearing for observers and ambush, hitting the lake bed with the things floored, we get a call from Bn to "get out of the fucking way, we're coming through." We veer off into the desert and an Abrams goes by balls out followed by LAVs and more tanks. At that point we were doing "mounted Recon follow in trail, watching taillights disappear in the distance." I liked the Desert Rat stuff, but not as part of an assaulting armored force, not equipped for that.
As fast as we were willing to drive them at night while navigating a sandy desert track yes. Daylight across the flats? I dunno, Humvees aren't built for speed. The tanks are fast.
An M1 has a road speed of 40ish mph. The off road is like 25. If you're a WoT player that 70 and 40 kph respectively with about 24 power to weight. It really can move surprisingly fast for a 50 ton vehicle
M. Carberry Jesus. I forgot. I was out at Ft. Irwin back in the mid 90s with 24th ID, 2/7 Inf Bn as an M2 Turret mech. It was after dark on the live fire range with the satellite dish array in it. I was called forward to 'repair' an M2 turret taken out by OpFor. I was a back-seater in a turtle-back humvee and we were 'killed' just as we pulled up alongside the 'dead' M2. Now, understand that I did my reserve time _before_ going active duty as a 12B combat engineer and was snatched up by the scout platoon as soon as they found that out. I loved it. So I'm out on this live fire range as a 'KIA' in an unarmored humvee. I think I was a PFC at the time. The driver and Lt in the front were out cold and I was dozing a bit when someone called in a copperhead on a BRDM, or BMP or somesuch - I don't remember exactly. The grid they gave was dead on for our location. So I leaned waaay over and start slapping the Lt around to wake him up to check fire. He was pissed at me, of course, for 'manhandling' him, and had no idea what was going on. Once I got him to call in a check fire, I explained what was going on and the dude turned dead white. If he hadn't cooperated or woke up, I was planning on jumping under the Bradley beside us. I know it doesn't sound like much, but my hands are shaking typing this. I don't know how long it was between the call for the fire mission and him radioing the check fire, but I was sure it wasn't going to be in time. He wasn't my Lt. I don't even remember what unit he was from, but he was attached to us and the BMO stuck me and my gear in his humvee. He already didn't like me - we'd butted heads earlier that exercise after going out to fix a TOW launcher on the scout leader's track. I had fixed the launcher in short order and we left to return to the assembly area, and I crashed in the back. We were only a few clicks out so I expected we'd be back in twenty minutes or so. It was late evening, IIRC. I woke up _hours_ later. We were still driving around the desert looking for the AA. The two idiots - the Spc and the Lt were arguing where it was, and about where they were. I just looked around at the mountains, tapped the driver on the shoulder and said - "that way, about four k's". The Lt turned beet red and started chewing my ass about how I couldn't possibly wake up from a dead sleep and know exactly where we were. I pointed again and told the driver "Go". he went. We got back well after full dark. We should have had our asses chewed, as driving after dark on Ft. Irwin was strictly forbidden at the time. Everything was weird though. Everything was 'off' at the AA. People were quiet and subdued, all the leadership from E6 and up were holed up in the command tent. It turned out that the battalion commander had order the scouts forward after dark to surprise OpFor. In the dark, two of the scouts' lead Bradleys had gone over the edge of a thirty foot deep wadi and landed on their lids. The two track commanders and gunners were dead, having been chest-high out of their hatches, and the rest of the crews were left sucking Halon for the better part of thirty minutes while rescue crews tried to get them out. Situations like this were specifically why driving was forbidden after dark. NVGs gave no depth perception, especially as crews got tired. I believe the battalion commander was sacked pretty much on-the-spot, but my recollection of that part is sketchy. These are just training mishaps. I can't even imagine what goes down in combat. Thank you, to all service members, for your sacrifice. Les Berg
I took my son when he was 9 to the Royal Artillery museum in Woolwich and I too was shocked to see the actual piece of equipment I worked with for 3 and a bit years sat there in all its glory . Am I a museum piece too I wondered , naw push me and find out methinks 😂 . 15 years later my son is a Irish Guardsman and has been for some years now . He’s already been to Iraq , Falkland Isles , Kenya twice , Thailand , Norway , did the last Trooping of The Colours for Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth , the state funeral too oh and did 2 years at Harrogate Military College . Saw your eyes well up there Chieftain and it’s nothing to be ashamed of . Thank you for your service .
This was an amazing video to watch! I've seen it 2 or 3 times in the past few months. Your stories are amazing and it was truly inspiring to see you reminisce about your old crew. God bless you and thank you for your service.
Thanks Nicholas, I have enjoyed all of the videos I have seen of you so far. This one was a little more special. I am a lifetime aviation fan but you have caused me to absorb quite a few tank videos. Thanks friend for your efforts to educate us.
I really enjoy the old war stories, funny anecdotes and interesting trivia, add in tanks or really any kind military vehicle, (actually any kind of mechanical conveyance really), and I'm easily pleased and enjoy the ride so thanks for the content and developing your channel the way you have, it makes my life that little bit better, cheers.
I got kicked out of the house when I was 16 (going to school was such a bore) and signed up for the Army (RA) on my 17th birthday in 1971. I really really wanted to be a tanker, so I got a guarantee for 11 Armor, not knowing that 11E was not the only Armor MOS. After basic my orders for school said 11D, whatever that was (Recon / Calvary ) and spent the first part of my hitch in gun jeeps in the ground troop of an Air Cav squadron, and 2 years in M114A1E1's in Bamberg playing speedbump for the Soviets. Turned out to be a lot more interesting than being a tanker, when ever someone was needed for ANY type of job they used us, so we got out of the motorpool a lot more often than the line animals. But I still never got to be in an operating tank. This video makes up for that more than anything else I've experienced. I bet the comment about the wind detector would be for exactly the situation as when my sisters would send my outside to find the waldorf for the salad when I was a sprout. Thanks (as you might guess from the avatar, my gamer name is Shorttimer)
Cool, another Armadillo. 72 to 74, first HHC 3/35 but then they spun off Recon along with Mortars, Redeye section, and Bridge Layer and put us in CSC (Combat Support Company. Had the cut section of fence all the cabbies knew as Gate 2 1/2 ever get patched?
Man I've been watching all the old stuff. It's a pleasure to see the fond memories of a real tanker talking about tank stuff. You sir are welcome to ramble on in my house any day of the week
Of all of your videos, this is the I will remember the most. This one was personal for you as you spoke about your crewmembers and things y'all did. Talking about a Cromwell turret is far different from talking about your home for a year. Thank you for your doing these informative videos, but more importantly, thank you for service. Essayons!
Thanks Buddy, I enjoy the tour look forward to the more in depth. I once had the experience of visiting the old ITR barracks at CLNC Geiger before they were demolished. After 30 years I was struck by how much larger things appeared back then compared to how small they were in the revisit.
I read a story about an M1 that was on operations in Germany; they hadn't secured their antennas and drove under a low-hanging power line near a small town and everything bad happened, including tripping the HALON system.
When a halon bottle pops, it goes off like a blast. The first thing you notice after the initial shock is that your voice is 3 octaves lower after that you unass the tank before you pass out.
"Hi, guys. Thanks for tuning in to another video of Inside the Chieftain's Hatch dot com. I am Chieftain, and I am here at the American Heritage Museum taking look at some of the vehicles they are going to be showing at their exhibition in April, 2019. What we are looking at today is a Tank, Combat, Full-tracked, 120mm Gun, M1A1, General Abrams..."
Just curious if the you think the area below the gun and above the driver's hatch is a shot trap? The abrams has a great angled design up front, but I always wondered about that gap under the barrel.
Tanks fire at each other at thousands of meters now, a tank at 10X at that range just looks like a rectangle, hitting it anywhere in particular is difficult, it's why tank crews are trained to hit center of mass, aiming for weakspots is a video game thing.
Yes, its technically a shot trap but since tanks sling APFSDS all the time any more and at massively long ranges most of the time... its not really considered a problem.
The best episode there will ever be on this channel, both thanks to your personal insights and the flood of memories flooding back. Thank you so much for sharing the intimate moment. I've had maybe a taste of the same commeradier, with bands in the past, and with my team on trading floors, but obviously an order of magnitude or more removed from a year straight involving life and death experiences. What I'd personally like to see is a walkthrough of your own good self at some point: how you came to tanking, how apparently you came to the US Army as an Irishman; didn't know that was possible. And you might as well spill the beans on getting into tanks at your height. I simply can't see how an army would be built to allow such a thing.
I served on the 105 version. No bustle racks. Also no azimuth wheel. Then when they did put a bustle rack on, not nearly big enough. The rear mounted APU. Guess my unit was lucky, nobody tore one off.
that was great, really enjoy these talks with the personal connection and the great stories, please do more as I know you will. I'm making no judgements about Irishmen having a tendency of spinning a good yarn.
yes indeed , i did enjoy your rambling . . . very much , and i loved the emotion that was evident in your voice at certain times . thanks for all you do and have done
Crosswind sensor warmup...the BOOM test for the main gun, or my favorite, making sure the turret is screwed on right when you pick your tank up from the depot...
@@petesheppard1709 I'd heard it takes 42 turns clockwise to get the turret on, then you back it off 21 turns so it can traverse back and forth without a stop in one direction or screwing the turret clean off in the other direction...
outstanding video! its rare for youtube videos to hold me for a full 35 minutes but you had 100% of my attention. your personal experience in the tank made this video priceless and I would love more personal stories in future videos!
I love the way you do your videos, as you bring so much personality to your presentations. This one though is very special. Such a deeply personal story. It was very clear that you were going back in time at certain points. Although this tank isn't the same one you served on, it was clear that being in the TC chair again was filling you with intense feeling. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Drive me closer, I need to unload half the weapons made by mankind on them. I would have though the M4 and your sidearms would have been perfectly sufficient. What did they think you'd be doing? Boarding actions?
More like if the tank got knocked out, or they set up a camp around their tank. A buddy of mine was an abrams tanker, and he told me that they built a makeshift outpost out of their abrams. (Tied camo netting to it and basically made a tent)
@@ScottKenny1978 more like “we need infantry but don’t want to have extra but do want them so we’re forcing you to be infantry since you have legs and a rifle”
@@looinrims that too. I mean, having a gun for each hatch on the turret is good. IIRC, the Israelis put a .50 coax, .50 on the TC's hatch, Mk19 on the loader's hatch, and FN MAG on the gunner's hatch (or Mk19 on the gunner's hatch and MAG on the loader's). Downside is that the hatches are open so crew is exposed to use them. But giving the tank crew all the same guns as an Infantry fireteam is a terrible idea. They're tankers, they are not trained as infantry!!!!
Without any doubt my favorite video of yours. I spent most of my time on the IP model and trained briefly on A1s at the Fort Knox School for Recalcitrant Young Men. Even with that your run through through the turret interior brought tears of memory to my eyes. Everything you said was spot on. Thanks.
This is by far your best video even if the lighting and video quality wasn't the best. It was deeply moving when you got all teary-eyed thinking about your old crew who you served with. You made me get all teary-eyed as well remembering my friends that I served with in the Army Corp of Engineers. Thank you so much for this video. I actually really love it when you tell war stories as they are a piece of history that should be documented. It would be amazing if you can get some of that tanks old crew to sit in that tank with you to tell their stories....a tradition that goes back to the dawn of time as warriors huddled around a fire telling their stories to younger men.
What a fantastic story and video. You could feel The Chieftain going back in time. It was heartbreaking to hear about the TC. Another true hero in my prayers. I can not imagine how the crew felt when they saw their second home again.
I watch this and I have so many regrets and wish I had not gotten sick. I wanted to join the tank core, I was in college and I wanted to be a TC but I got fibromyalgia so that was the end of that. I never even got to ride in a tank. Now in the end I am disabled, my wife left, divorced me taking the kids, and I am in pain all of the time being often unable to walk. Watching this video I wonder what could have been and wish things had been different. I really wish I could have at least had the chance to ride in one and maybe fire the guns just once to see what a cannon that large going off was like. I wish I had know the feeling of having brothers in arms and having memories of them. I have lost all of my friends except one that I made later. I feel so alone having watched this and dream of what could have been. Nice video I really did enjoy it and it gave me a look into what life could have been like making me smile dreaming of a life that never was.
You are not alone, bud. In college, I was in Army ROTC and was looking forward to being an Infantry officer. I completed airborne school after my second year of the program and was looking forward to attending Ranger school after my graduation and commission. I was looking forward to being an officer in a Ranger or Paratrooper unit, or at least Air Assault. But, after my third year the program and just a few weeks before I was to set off for NALC, I was robbed at gunpoint and then shot in the neck while leaving a grocery store. The bullet hit my spine and left me with a diagnosis of quadriplegia and paralysis from the neck downward. All the guys that I spent many days and nights training with went on to pursue their officer careers, and I have not heard from any of them in many years. A few of them came to see me in the hospital, but after that, yeah… It is tough. Really tough. But, my only consolation is a continuing desire to move forward and be "something." I keep trying to learn new things, pursue different interests, and try to pursue some semblance of success and a "life." After 13 years, I finally got my first job post-injury with the local PD as an analyst, only to lose it a little over a year later (after a fire alarm incident, they saw me as a liability and wanted to get rid of me; so, they contrived some BS excuse to get the chief to sign off on my termination, sparing them from EEOC intervention). After another year of surgery, therapy, and recovery, I am back to throwing my resumes against the wall and seeing what sticks. So far, no takers, and I am back to stacking rejection and "we regret to inform you…" letters like they are trophies. I seem to get several every week, and at this point, it just makes me chuckle every time. I just wanted to throw my story to you to let you know that you are not alone. Interestingly, yours is the first story that I have come across that is, at least, somewhat similar to mine - similar aspirations and type of injury. But, we got to find some reason to keep moving forward. I just threw my name in the hat for law school. Will I get in? Well, let's see: I could only apply to ONE school, the school in my city, and I am competing against a ton of applications from 20-somethings who are a hell of a lot smarter than I am… lol.. But, hey, you do not know unless you try, right? Right… Besides, I could always use another "trophy." Stay strong, brother
@@zion653 Hey man, I just saw this comment by chance. I would be happy to help any way that I can. I graduated law school a few years ago so if you need help or advice in that realm just send me a pm. Good luck to you brother, sometimes it takes awhile to find something meaningful in our lives.
@@zion653 Fuck your story is grim mate, all the best and keep on keeping on. Did they catch the prick that shot you and if so what sentence did he get?
Breach cuts/welds are offenses to history and shouldn't be mandated. As if someone's going to mill a 120mm round (or any other caliber) and fire it off! Pure BS...
Isn't Battfield Vegas licensed as a 3 something gun dealer/manufacturer? At least an American acquaintance of mine explained it to me that way. That was also the reason for them being able to lend out the guns to get fired by tourists.
Jimmy De'Souza I watched a video recently of a guy boring out a welded shut Sten gun chamber. I can't imagine how much work it would be scaled up to an Abrams gun.
