[masshole]

I've been a predominantly lurker here for a few years and I know several of you enjoy seeing what I'm up to in the Marine Corps. I'm an 1802 Tank Officer, and I thought I'd share some pictures of tanks and stuff. I'm one of the two Marines that get the pleasure of sticking out the top of the turret. The M2 .50 cal machine gun is my personal weapon, and I can also override the gunner and control/fire the main gun (120mm smoothbore). I'm a tank platoon commander so I command my tank with a crew of 4 including myself, as well as 3 other tanks.

Tanks is an awesome job for me. We have to do a lot of maintenance and mechanical improvisation with the tanks, and as a gearhead I enjoy that thoroughly. The tank weighs 70 tons, we carry 504 gallons of JP-8 jet fuel which we burn in approximately 4 hours. We have a *published* max speed of 47 mph, but I've seen faster. The plant is a gas turbine engine, same as the one in the AH-1W Cobra attack helo. We can shoot targets out to 4km, which is about 2 miles. The thermals in the Marine Corps tank are amazing, with a 50 power zoom.

I haven't been deployed yet and the current policy in Afghanistan prohibits tanks, but I will likely deploy in the near future as a provisional rifle platoon commander. Oh, and I'm with 2d Tank Battalion down in Camp Lejeune, NC.

Here are some pics from recent training.


You'll notice Army soldiers strewn about in these photos. USMC trains our tank officers at Ft Knox at the Army armor school since we are so few and the Marine Corps doesn't get nearly the funding the Army gets.

There's this ugly mug in TC hatch.




That used to be my tank. I plead the 5th on the stoved in fender.




Took this one from the driver's compartment, which is not a job I normally do, but I got trained to be proficient in every spot in the tank.


HAWHACKA!


Me on the right, another Lt on the left.


Semper Fi.

[mechanickeith]

First off Sir, Thank you for your service to our great country!!!

Cool Pictures!!!!! Brings back a lot of memories. I started out on gasser M48's. Moved up to Sherridans, then M60's & was with the 1st Cav division at Ft Hood Texas in the late 70's When we got the XM1's. Maintenance all the way!! Was teaching at Aberdeen proving grounds in Md when I got out. Teaching Fuel & electrical troublshooting on gas & diesel engines. Came back from Germany once in a C5B, had a panzer tank in the hold. Was coming to the US for testing. Eventually we adopted the 120MM smooth bore as our primary gun for the M-1's. Preffered the 105 mm, was a LOT easier to change the gun tube!! 120mm the turrent has to come off to change the tube.

[67 LeMans 326]

First and foremost, THANK YOU AND ALL who serve our country past & present! Best wishes to you and your men.

[Greg Reid]

I'll add my sincere THANKS as well. I appreciate the sacrifices made by you and all your comrades in arms.
And finally, GREAT PHOTOS...Thanks for posting.

[Mr_GTO]

Masshole, you from Massachusetts? Looks like a tough but fun rewarding job. Semper Fi Marine.

[2002Z4CSS]

Thank You for serving.

[thirtypointer]

Marine Joe: I enjoyed your pictures and story alot. Thanks for your service.

[Ogre]

Good Stuff Joe ... glad to hear from you. I was a little concerned a while back when I read about some "Canoe U" guys cheating on test at Quantico, so I'm relieved that you weren't one of them.

The tone of your posting indicates that you are enjoying life more out of the "academic" world and serving in the "real" world.

Good luck and thanks for serving our nation .

Bring us up to speed on your Pontiac addiction ...

Ogre

[66bonne]

Semper Fi

Jim

[AROWHED]

I agree, your job most definitely does not suck! Thank you! And it's always good to put a face to the name on these sites.

[Bob Dillon]

What's the weird-looking machine gun between you guys in the last photo? Is that an M-60 iteration?

And...stay safe, accomplish the mission, and return with honor.

Also, protect your corpsman at all times.

[masshole]

Thanks for all the support gents. Bob, that machine gun in the last picture is a M2 .50 cal machine gun, and the star wars looking thing on the barrel is a blank firing adapter. That's the weapon that I control, and it's pretty devastating. Right now it can only be fired accurately when the tank is stopped because it is not stabilized like the main gun. Within the next year or so the Marine Corps is getting a stabilized mount for that puppy so I can shoot it on the move. And yes, I always make sure my corpsmen are taken care of. I have much love for my squid medical brothers.

Ogre: No sir, I was not involved with that land navigation cheating scandal in Quantico. However, I knew one of the former Marines involved very well as he was a football player in my company back at USNA, a year ahead of me. A real dirtbag, always skated by at the academy because he was a football star. I was pleased to see some accountability on that, finally. The Land Nav course of instruction is not easy, and I had to repeat a couple of the field tests, myself. In regards to my pontiac addiction, I still own a 65 GTO clone which I bought in November 07 from a member here and I love it. Right now it is up in MA but my brother is trailering it down to NC when he gets some time, as I have a more permanent residence now, with a garage. Short term plans for when I get her here include a 462 stroker (I have a mild 455 in there currently), 3.55 or 3.73 posi-rear (right now it's a 3.08 open 10-bolt), and then depending on my financial situation I want to straighten out the body and paint it Nightwatch Blue (right now it's Fontaine Blue). I also want to get some better rubber because even right now with the mild 455 I have traction issues. I'm going to be drawing on advice from you guys heavily when I get into it.

Mr GTO: Yes, I grew up in MA but I havent lived there for about 5 years. I grew up in Upton, MA which is right near where 495 and the Pike intersect. Some other towns in the area are Westboro, Grafton, and Milford.

Keith: Fascinating to hear about your involvement in the XM1. As I am not the one who has to swap out the gun tubes, I prefer the 120mm because, hell, 15 more mm puts more hurt on the bad guy and some of our potential adversaries (China, N Korea, Iran, etc) have developed some formidable tanks which I don't believe the 105 would do well against.

And oh yea, for those of you who know about the interior of tanks, I'm 6'8". I think I'm the tallest tanker in the Marine Corps, maybe in the US Armed forces.

[David Jones]

Thank you for your service.

[LeighP]

Nice pics, thanks..very interesting. I'd never seen a BFA for an M2....I used to drive M113's back in the 70's and the only time we'd fire the M2 and M3's was on the range....I don't think we even had BFAs for them, lol. (Aussie M113's have a turret with both an M2 and an M3 in them)

[mike nixon]

Thanks for your service and cool pics!

[GT182]

Great photos Joe! And my added thanks for your Service, and your fellow Marines too, to our country. Semper Fi.

At least that dent wasn't in the turret.

[Rustie]

Cool pics!!! Always have loved hearing about and looking at military stuff.

I would think a tank post would be an awesome one for any gear head.

[webfoot]

That is cool! Thanks for the pics. They named it Lafonduh HAHAHA!!!

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by masshole

Thanks for all the support gents. Bob, that machine gun in the last picture is a M2 .50 cal machine gun,

Ma Deuce!

and the star wars looking thing on the barrel is a blank firing adapter.

OK. that's what threw me.

[masshole]

Yea those things are jinky as hell. The vibrations from firing the gun often cause it to come loose and I've seen one shoot off the end of the barrel at high speed (weighs about 40 lbs) and go about 100 yds.