FWTV: 29 Palms Video 3
Season: 1
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:10 I'm Corporal Christopher Smyth. I'm with 1st Tank Battalion, Bravo Command Headquarters, Platoon.
00:15 I am from Buffalo, New York. I am 3531, which is a motor T operator.
00:21 I want to say hi to my mom, dad, everyone back home in New York,
00:24 and the special two that are in Boston and the other two that are in San Francisco.
00:28 Hi, guys.
00:30 Now for the Skyjacker Shock of the Day.
00:34 Common Sense Tip #450.
00:37 You're finally able to buy the four-wheeler you've always dreamed about,
00:41 and you see the hill that you must conquer.
00:44 Perhaps it's best to first consult your owner's manual before giving it the old college try.
00:50 [Music]
01:00 Our exclusive look with Bravo Company continues.
01:08 So, Gunny, where are we right now?
01:09 Right now we're on the live fire range.
01:11 The tanks are going through a series of live fire exercises
01:15 where we have a master gunner that's presenting them with scenarios,
01:18 and they're evaluated on how well they perform, how quickly and accurately they perform.
01:23 The master gunner's on the hill behind us up there, evaluating and running the targets up for them.
01:28 It's a series of pop-up targets.
01:30 Right now the crews are searching and traversing, waiting for the next scenario to begin.
01:34 Once they identify the targets, they'll start their engagement.
01:38 Typically, when the tank's going to shoot, you'll see both the crewmen will definitely go down inside.
01:42 Like right now, the tank on the right is getting ready to test fire its machine guns.
01:47 It may be running an engagement at this point.
01:50 [Music]
02:03 If you see the crewmen outside the tank, they're not getting ready to shoot, I can guarantee you that.
02:07 They'll drop down inside before you ask them.
02:09 Do they have to close the hatch every time they fire?
02:12 They don't close the hatch, but they definitely get inside.
02:14 Now, if we're in a hostile environment, typically we'll run with the hatches closed for obvious reasons.
02:19 [Music]
02:22 See how his gun tube just went all the way up?
02:24 That means he's actually loading his machine gun on the inside.
02:27 Oh, really?
02:28 Right.
02:29 They elevate so that they have plenty of room to load the machine guns.
02:32 You can always tell when they're loading it up like that.
02:35 And then it comes down, and he's ready to go.
02:38 He'll probably test fire.
02:39 [Music]
02:43 All right, he's on a machine gun engagement.
02:44 He's shooting at some troop targets out in front of him.
02:47 That's the coaxial machine gun, the smaller one that's mounted inside that you hear going off right now.
02:54 He's got a problem with his machine gun.
02:56 They're probably trying to work on that right now.
03:01 Target.
03:03 He hit the one on the left.
03:06 Now he's searching over to the one on the right, which is right down there.
03:13 Target right through the center.
03:16 Targets are up.
03:24 He just lays to it.
03:27 On the way.
03:37 These destroyed unmanned tanks are the result of a dead hit by live fire cannon rounds,
03:43 training that's necessary to prepare for a combat situation.
03:48 So how do we go about even getting into this?
03:50 We all enter through the loader's hatch.
03:52 That's where we first get into the tanks.
03:54 I'll climb down there, step right in there in the lower seat, and I'll climb in through the T-seat.
03:58 Okay, I'm going in.
03:59 Quarters inside the Abrams are tight.
04:02 The gunner is seated within inches of the cannon recoil,
04:05 a dangerous job that takes incredible concentration and guts to perform, a task not for the claustrophobic.
04:11 These sights right here, like I said, this is the gunner's primary sight, the GPS.
04:16 This is where the gunner will stick his head and see out the sights.
04:20 Tank commander has a sight up here called the GPS-E.
04:23 He sees exactly the same thing the gunner sees.
04:26 Those are all the gunner's control handles down there.
04:28 Here are the gunner's control handle for power.
04:32 You've got two manuals, so you can actually manually traverse and elevate the main gun too in case you lose power.
04:37 You've got ammo select switches down there, gun select switch to shoot the machine gun or the main gun.
04:43 You've got your thermal sights down there.
04:44 Turn that on and off.
04:48 If for any reason the Abrams needs a lift, the powerful M-88 recovery vehicle comes to the rescue.
04:53 We bet your auto club doesn't have this service.
04:58 I'm Lance Corporal Cody Wilkins, 1st Marine Division, Bravo Company, 2nd Platoon, and you're watching 4-Wheeler TV.
05:03 Stay put, Marine. We'll be back after this.
05:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]