FORT KNOX, Ky. -- ?Identified tank,? echoes through the ears of the crew as the target is acquired. The tank commander yells, ?Driver, stop,? and the 63-ton tank halts with the sound of a ammunition being loaded in the main barrel.
?Fire,? comes the next command, and before the gunner has time to finish saying, ?on its way,? a ball of flame launches from the main barrel as the shot is sent 2,500 meters down range to its intended impact area. The gunner says, ?target,? as a flare blasts into the sky simulating the target tank being destroyed.
The crowd cheered as the Marines of 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 8th Tank Battalions made their way through a range with moving targets simulating troops, enemy tanks and other enemy armor during the seventh annual tank gunnery competition -- better known as TIGERCOMP -- held here Sept. 21.
An annual event, hosted by the 4th Marine Division, TIGERCOMP brings the top tank crews of the Marine Corps? four tank battalions -- both active duty and reserve -- go head-to-head to see which team is best at decision making, communication skills, technical proficiency and teamwork while operating the M1A1 Abrams tank.
?This event is the only service-wide, ground combat competition of its kind within the Department of Defense,? said Brig. Gen. John J. McCarthy, commanding general, 4th Marine Division. ?It?s a true total force event.?
This year the competing teams were Company C, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Twentynine Palms, Calif., Company B, 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C., Company B, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Yakima, Wash. and Company A, 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Fort Knox, Ky.
Each tank crew of four Marines (the tank commander, gunner, driver and loader) arrived here Sept. 17, but only fired twice on Yano Range before the competition, giving them the chance to sight in their weapons, said Master Gunnery Sgt. Lee Moore, range safety officer for TIGERCOMP VII and battalion operations officer, Headquarters and Service Company, 8th Tank Bn., Rochester, N.Y.
?The way the teams get ready for the competition is through the tank gunnery skills test,? he said. ?They go through an extensive process just to fire on the range.?
During the competition, the crews were sent on a designated course and had to show their skills firing the main barrel (a 120mm smooth bore cannon) on enemy tanks and armor and the M2 .50 caliber machine gun and M240G coaxial weapon at enemy troops.
Other tasks during the competition included operating the tank during an NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) attack and manning the M1A1 with only a three-man crew.
?There are approximately 62 different target scenarios,? said Moore.
The winners of TIGERCOMP get the honor of receiving the McCard cup (named after the Medal of Honor recipient and tanker, Gunnery Sgt. Robert H. McCard, Company A, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division) for a year and having the bragging rights of being the best tank crew in the Marine Corps.
To win the honor, a crew must be able to hit its designated target in 50 seconds.
?A target ? which could be two at a time ? will be up for 50 seconds. If the tank hits the target in ten seconds, they get 100 points,? said Moore.
This year the winning crew of the tank gunnery competition came from Company C, 1st Tank Battalion.
Along with the bragging rights and trophy, tank commander Gunnery Sgt. Kevin J. Galloway, and his gunner, Cpl. Andrew J. Dietz, loader, Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Leinbach, and driver, Lance Cpl. Christopher R. Pugh, were awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for outstanding performance of duties by being the winning tank crew of TIGERCOMP VII.
Galloway said any team could have won the competition, but what it all came down to was the confidence and mindset that each team brought with them to the range during the competition.
Even though Galloway?s crew came in first at TIGERCOMP VII, they will have to continually hone their skills to compete with their unit for the chance to return next year for TIGERCOMP VIII.
?We?ll be departing with the 15th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) in a couple of months,? said Galloway, ?but when we return, we?re going to prepare to compete so we can come back here next year.?