Staff Sergeant Army Tanker: Fill & Download for Free

I am a former American tanker, (still living in Germany) but trained with both Armies tankers. I may be wrong but I am fairly confident that I’m not.My Educated guess is no.Tanks are not cheap to maintain or train crew for. Just like grandpas old car he handed down to your dad and then you, the frequency of repair only goes up as the car ages, where eventually it’s just not worth throwing money into anymore.The US Army basically passes old equipment to the national guard. They used M60s for a very long time because they were basically free and the Army handed them a bunch of spare parts that they no longer needed. Sounds like a good deal right?It caused all sorts of logistical training and maintenance issues. When I went to Basic at Ft Knox in 1995 we had some national guard tankers with us, they went through the exact same training as I did which seems great except we never ever touched an M60, They got to their units not knowing the first thing about the tank they were serving on. Ironically I got assigned to 1/11 Acr at Ft Irwin California to be OPFOR and started serving on the abomination that was the old M551 Sheridan, which I also had zero clue about.So I had to start over and learn everything about a Sheridan like those NG guys had to learn about the M60. I requested and got transferred to the M1 tank platoon where all we did was maintain M1A1s and drive for gunnery, It was like learning everything new again. As the various companies rotated in and out to qualify, I as a private first class (E-3), found myself teaching Sergeants (E-5), Staff Sergeants(E-6) and Sergeants First Class (E-7), how to do the most basic things on the tank they were supposed to go to real war in.It was the same For the NG guys going active and getting deployed! We were making NCOs be loaders because that was all they were qualified to do.As the parts for the M60s dried up, their combat readiness plummeted like a stone. Because the demand for new parts was so low, a new part would cost more than an M1 part. Eventually it was decided to sell those M60s (or turn them into artificial reefs) and give the Guard older M1’s when upgrades came out, Now they could share the parts chain with the active Army and the training would be relevant.It was just found to be better and cheaper over all to have one type of thank than a bunch of different vehicles that shared nothing.This is even more true of European armies, they are tiny in comparison, France’s spending was less than 1/12th of the US, Germany’s budget was 1/23rd.They simply don't have enough people or budget to staff all of the modern tanks they do have. I never saw a single AMX 30 or Leopard 1 in service of France or Germany. It is far more cost effective to build a Leopard 2 and keep it in moth balls than to try to maintain a Leopard 1 and keep a crew marginally proficient in it.They sold most of their old stocks to poorer counties to try to keep their cash strapped armies paid.They might keep a few in some hidden bunkers for a last ditch defense but the only people who know how to use them will be at least as old as me (Early 40s) and older.Throwing new troops in them will only be providing additional targets to anyone that beat their army of modern tanks and crews.

The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–DELTA (Airborne), or 1st SFOD–D (A) — a.k.a. “Delta Force” (or just “Delta”) or “The Unit”; re-designated as “Combat Applications Group” (CAG), and then, as of late, “Army Compartmented Element” (ACE; debatable, possibly disinformation) —, is a U.S. Army Special Missions Unit (SMU), or “Tier 1”** Special Operations Force* (SOF). It is also nicknamed “The Dreaded D”, and its Operators, “D-Boys”.*For a comprehensive overview of what SOF (and their types) are, check: Gabriel Cabral's answer to What do special operations forces actually do?**For a list of US “Tier 1” SOF, check: Gabriel Cabral's answer to Who are the four Tier 1 Units in the US military?It is a very secretive organization, given the sensitive nature of its work, and as such, the US government does not often comment openly on it or its activities — which then means that its original name and later re-designations are all extra-official, and information about it is heavily grounded on first- and third-party reports.“Delta” is, administratively, part of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), but it operationally falls under the direction of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), within which it is codenamed “Task Force Green” — both component commands (USASOC and JSOC) integrate the U.S. Special Operations Command* (USSOCOM, or just SOCOM), which is the military’s Unified Combatant Command in charge of the country’s dedicated Special Warfare assets and activities (JSOC, specifically, coordinates its SMUs in the planning and conduction of sensitive, critical-value Special Operations missions).*For a list and descriptions of the operational forces under the USSOCOM, check: Gabriel Cabral's answer to What are US Special Operations Forces? What is their role and organization?The 1st SFOD–D (A) was founded in 1977 by U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Charles Alvin “Chargin’ Charlie” Beckwith, having been inspired by his experiences while embedded with the British Army’s Special Air Service (SAS) as an Exchange Officer late during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). He had, many times, proposed to his superiors that the Army Special Forces Operators (a.k.a. ”Green Berets”) should be “doers”, more so than just “teachers” and “thinkers”, but was turned down until the waves of international terrorism of the early- and mid-1970s (marked, among other things, by many aircraft hijackings), when having such an organization became an unequivocal necessity.Although the unit was created from within the Army Special Forces (SF) community, it is known to recruit members from every service branch (to include even the Coast Guard, according to some sources) — which means that not all members necessarily transitioned from the SF Groups (or even from the Special Operations community).The unit’s original designation was intended as misinformation for the country’s adversaries: the U.S. Army Special Forces branch comprehends five Active Duty Groups (Regiments), and two more in the Army National Guard (ARNG), each divided into four Battalions (three, in the ARNG Groups), in turn comprising three Companies, which are made up by six Operational Detachments–ALPHA (ODAs; 12-person Teams — the Special Forces’ basic fraction of employment). The Companies’ Headquarters are designated Operational Detachment–BRAVO (ODB), and the Battalions’ Headquarters, Operational Detachment–CHARLIE (ODC); if we followed this logic, than “Operational Detachment–DELTA” would have been the designation of the Groups’ Headquarters — but the 1st SFOD–D (A) is, of course, its own separate organization (and hence the confusion intended by giving the unit this designation).According to former Army Times staff writer Sean Naylor, in his book ‘Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command’ (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2015), as well as later reports, the 1st SFOD–D (A) would be structured as follows:Headquarters;A Squadron (Assault);B Squadron (Assault);C Squadron (Assault);D Squadron (Assault);E Squadron (Aviation; formerly designated as “SEASPRAY”);G Squadron (a.k.a. “Clandestine Operations Group”, formerly “Operational Support Troop”; oriented towards Clandestine Operations and Advanced Force Operations);Signals Squadron (Communications);Combat Support Squadron (medical personnel, EOD technicians, SIGINT specialists, WMD experts, etc);H Squadron (Nuclear Disposal).On a sidenote, G Squadron is said to have always recruited and employed women, even before combat jobs were formally opened up to women throughout the Armed Forces — such could also be the case for the Combat Support Squadron.In one of his previous books, ‘Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda’ (Dutton Caliber/Berkeley Books, 2005), Naylor also refers that “Delta” would be made up of at least 1,000 personnel, with some 250 to 300 Operators (throughout the Teams in the Assault Squadrons).Each of the Assault Squadrons would comprehend a Headquarters Section, two Assault Troops — specializing in Direct Action —, and a Reconnaissance and Surveillance (or “Recce”) Troop — specializing in covert infiltration, Special Reconnaissance, target surveillance and sniping. The Troops are numbered “One”, “Two” and “Three” (with “Three” being the “Recce” Troop), and each would comprehend a Headquarters Element comprising 4 members, and four Teams comprising 5 Operators (4, in the “Recce” Teams) — thus we have that, in theory, the Assault Troops would have 24 members in total, and the “Recce” Troops, 20 (which means that the number of Operators throughout the Teams would be 224, or that the total number of personnel throughout the Troops, with the 4-member HQ Elements included, would be 272).The Teams are numbered with NATO phonetic alphabet letters. So, each of the four Assault Squadrons would comprehend:A Team (“Alpha”), B Team (“Bravo”), C Team (“Charlie”) and D Team (“Delta”) under One Troop (Assault);Then E Team (“Echo”), F Team (“Foxtrot”), G Team (“Golf”/“Geronimo”) and H Team (“Hotel”) under Two Troop (Assault);And I Team (“India”), J Team (“Juliet”/“Jackal”), K Team (“Kilo”) and L Team (“Lima”) under Three Troop (“Recce”).Each Squadron would have a Lieutenant Colonel (O-5) as Commanding Officer (CO), a Major (O-4) as Executive Officer (XO), a Captain (O-3) or a Major (O-4) as Operations Officer, and also a Captain (O-3) or a Major (O-4) as Assistant Operations Officer — additionally, there’d be a Command Sergeant Major (E-9) and an Operations Sergeant Major (E-9).Each Troop HQ Element would have a Major (O-4) as Commanding Officer (CO), a Captain (O-3) as Executive Officer (XO), plus a Troop Sergeant Major (E-9). The Teams in each Troop would have a Master Sergeant (E-8) or a Sergeant Major (E-9) as Team Leader, a Sergeant First Class (E-7) or a Master Sergeant (E-8) as Assistant Team Leader, with the remaining Team members ranking from Sergeant (E-5), through Staff Sergeant (E-6), to Sergeant First Class (E-7).The 1st SFOD–D (A) is, similarly to its inspiration (the SAS), an all-rounded SOF, sharing its basic mission capabilities with the 75th Ranger Regiment* — Special Reconnaissance (SR), and Assaults and High-Value Target (HVT) Raids, both being Direct Action (DA) —, as well as with the Special Forces* branch — Irregular/Unconventional Warfare (IW/UW), Counter-Proliferation (CP), Manhunts, etc. However, what sets “Delta” apart are its doctrinal specialties, which cover Counter-Terrorism (CT), Counter-Hijaking (CH), Hostage Rescue (HR), Information Operations (IO), Covert/Clandestine Operations (CO), and more.*For an overview of the differences between the 75th Ranger Regiment and the Special Forces branch, check: Gabriel Cabral's answer to What is the difference between the Army Ranger and the Army Green Beret? What type of operations are they generally assigned to do?Since its activation, the 1st SFOD–D (A) has taken part in:The aborted rescue attempt of the American hostages during the Iran Hostage Crisis (‘Operation Eagle Claw’, 1980 — the unit’s ‘baptism of fire’); the mission’s main force was comprised of A and B Squadrons (1st SFOD–D), along with a Ranger element (from both the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions), as well as personnel from the Special Forces Detachment “A” (a.k.a. “The Berlin Brigade”);The US intervention in Grenada (‘Operation Urgent Fury’, 1983), with C Squadron conducting the assaults on Fort Rupert and Richmond Hill Prison, alongside Rangers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment;The Counter-Hijacking and Hostage Rescue mission involving Aeropostal Flight 252, in Curaçao (1984);The Close Protection/Personal Security of US diplomats in Lebanon throughout the 1980s, during the country’s civil war;The Counter-Guerrilla campaigns in Central America throughout the 1980s;Counter-Narcoguerrilla operations and related manhunts throughout Central and South America between the 1980s and 1990s (such as ‘Operation Heavy Shadow’, the mission to capture or kill Pablo Escobar);The US intervention in Panama (‘Operation Just Cause’, 1989–1990) — specifically, operations ‘Acid Gambit’ (the rescue of Kurt Muse from the Carcel Modelo prison) and ‘Nifty Package’ (the capture of General Manuel Noriega);The Gulf War (1991), hunting for Iraqi SCUD missiles behind enemy lines as part of ‘Operation Desert Storm’, as well as providing Close Protection/Personal Security to authorities such as General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.;The US intervention in Somalia in 1993, under Task Force Ranger — comprising C Squadron, 1st SFOD–D; Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Rgt; elements from the 24th Special Tactics Squadron (or 24th STS); a deployment package from the 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR (with A/MH-6J Little Bird and MH-60A/L Black Hawk helicopters); and a 4-man sniper team from Gold Squadron, NSWDG (a.k.a. “DEVGRU”) —, as part of UNOSOM II (‘Operation Gothic Serpent’; the 1st SFOD–D’s most famous engagement due to its radical turn of events, on account of the “Black Hawk Down” incident, in which Somali militants’ RPG fire knocked two helicopters from the air, extending the mission and giving militants more opportunity to inflict casualties on American and UN forces);The US-led intervention in the 1994 Haitian coup d’état (‘Operation Uphold Democracy’), rescuing and evacuating the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide amid the turmoil, as well as escorting and protecting US officials and diplomats in-country throughout the intervention;The Japanese Embassy hostage crisis in Lima, Peru (1996), during which a small “Delta” advance team, along with six British SAS members, provided advisory to the Peruvian Special Forces and helped plan the rescue mission;The 1999 WTO Conference in Seattle (Washington State), having assisted with the event’s security preparations (focusing on potential chemical weapons threats);The war in Afghanistan (2001–present), with the highlight being the hunt for Bin Laden in the Tora Bora region;The insurgency in the Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir in 2002, hunting for Bin Laden after reports that the Pakistani militant group HuM might have been harboring him in the region;The Iraq War (2003–2011), with the highlight being C Squadron’s participation, under Task Force 121, in ‘Operation Red Dawn’ (December 2003) — the mission to hunt down and capture Saddam Hussein;The Benghazi attack of September 2012, in which the provisional US Consulate in the city and a nearby CIA annex were raided by local militants — a small, 3-man “Delta” team was sent to augment and render aid to the CIA’s Global Response Staff (GRS) team already deployed there; this event was part of ‘Operation Juniper Shield’, formerly ‘Operation Enduring Freedom — Trans Sahara’ (or OEF–TS), the US Special Operations campaign in North Africa (2007–present);The US-led intervention against ISIS in Iraq and Syria (‘Operation Inherent Resolve’, or OIR; 2014–present), with a highlight, early on, being the 2015 liberation of some 70 ISIS prisoners/hostages in the town of Hawija (in the Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq) alongside Kurdish Commandos and Rangers from the 75th Ranger Rgt, during which a “Delta” Operator, Master Sergeant Joshua Lloyd “Josh” Wheeler, was killed in action; it was also during this mission that then-Sergeant First Class Thomas Patrick Payne’s actions earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor — he is the first ever living “Delta” recipient of the decoration (at least “officially”), and the first since Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon and Seargent First Class Randall “Randy” Shughart (both of whom perished protecting downed helicopter crews during the “Black Hawk Down” incident in Somalia, in 1993);The 2016 manhunt for Mexican druglord “El Chapo” Guzmán (‘Operation Black Swan’), which culminated in his capture by the Mexican Marine Corps Special Forces, with him being ultimately extradited to the United States;And in the 2019 Barisha raid (‘Operation Kayla Mueller’), the mission (part of ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’) to capture or kill ISIS leader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, a.k.a. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”, which resulted in his death by him detonating his suicide vest after realizing he wouldn’t evade the “Delta” Operators — and their ‘Special Operations Military Working Dog’ (SOMWD), Conan — who were chasing after him through his hideout’s escape tunnels.U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) SSI with the distinctive red-on-black “Airborne” tab, as worn by “Delta Force” members on their Service and Dress uniforms (respectively, worn as a patch on the Service Uniform’s left shoulder sleeve, or as a pin on the Dress Uniform’s right chest pocket).Original “Delta Force” logo.A stylized rendering of the “Delta Force” seal and logo.Photo of a young Charles Beckwith, still in the Army Special Forces — the portrait celebrates him and his career in the Special Operations community.Photo of an older Charles Beckwith, late in his career (in the mid-1980s). He wrote a book, with Donald Knox, titled ‘Delta Force: The Army’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit’ (Harcourt, 1983), where he detailed the foundation, organization and early operational records of the 1st SFOD–D (A).The original cover of Charles Beckwith’s book on “Delta”.Some of the first “Delta” Operators, from A Squadron, underway for the unit’s ‘baptism of fire’, ‘Operation Eagle Claw’ (1980).“Delta” personnel disembarking from a USAF Lockheed C-141 Starlifter transport plane upon landing on Masirah Island, Oman, from where they would later join the Navy in the Persian Gulf to launch the ill-fated rescue attempt of the American hostages in Tehran.U.S. Navy RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Persian Gulf, being prepared for the operation.Members of the operation’s main force, upon returning from the aborted mission. The mission was aborted halfway through its launch stage due to a sudden sandstorm, which caused an accident at ‘Desert One’ involving some of the aviation assets being employed on the mission. This was precipitated by the fact that every DoD branch wanted to partake in the mission, but there wasn’t enough experience or coordination for such a joint endeavor.To remedy their deficiencies, the Army later established the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), or 160th SOAR (A), the Navy later raised its SEAL Team Six (ST6), and the Department of Defense (DoD) founded the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), on December of that same year (1980) — and then the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) later on (in 1987) —, to establish inter-service Special Operations coordination and doctrine.An artistic illustration (by Johnny Shumate) depicting the disaster that ocurred at ‘Desert One’.A scene from the wreckage at ‘Desert One’, showing what remained of the hit USAF Lockheed EC-130E tanker plane.Remains of the crashed U.S. Navy Sikorsky RH-53D Sea Stallion at ‘Desert One’.Operators from B Squadron posing for a group photo, 1981.A “Delta” Operator, from C Squadron, just after being dropped off by a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter aboard the USS Moosbrugger (DD 980) to receive medical attention, after being injured by shrapnel from heavy Anti-Aircraft fire upon approaching Richmond Hill Prison in Grenada, during ‘Operation Urgent Fury’ (1983).“Delta” Operators just before launching ‘Operation Acid Gambit’ (the rescue of Kurt Muse from the Carcel Modelo prison, in Panama City), part of ‘Operation Just Cause’ (US invasion of Panama, 1989–1990).A view of the site where the damaged MH-6 Little Bird helicopter carrying Kurt Muse and his rescuers had to crash-land shortly after they retrieved their “package”.A closer view of the crashed MH-6 helicopter in the streets of Panama City.“Delta” Operators shortly before launching ‘Operation Nifty Package’ (the capture of Manuel Noriega), part of ‘Operation Just Cause’ (US invasion of Panama, 1989–1990).“Delta” Operators at Manuel Noriega’s residential compound, with Noriega not found at the scene. Noriega had sought sanctuary at the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See — the Nunciature being a de facto embassy of the Holy See, Noriega was then protected under international law (that didn’t last, however, with Noriega eventually surrendering himself to the US forces).Command Sergeant Major (retired) Eric Lamar Haney, one of the original members of the 1st SFOD–D (A), having served in C Team, One Troop (Assault), B Squadron. He retired in 1990, just after ‘Operation Just Cause’ (US invasion of Panama, 1989–1990), during which he was already out of “Delta” (serving under the 193rd Infantry Brigade). After his retirement, he chronicled his experiences in his book ‘Inside Delta Force: The Story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit’ (Delacorte Press/Dell Publishing, 2002).First edition cover of Eric L. Haney’s memoir book (audiobook version).“Delta” Operators hunting for Iraqi SCUD missiles behind enemy lines during the Gulf War, as part of ‘Operation Desert Storm’ (1991).General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. in Iraq, during the Gulf War, with a “Delta” Personal Security Detail (PSD).U.S. Army Rangers from Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, posing for a group photo during their deployment to Somalia as part of Task Force Ranger, 1993.U.S. Army “Delta Force” Operators, from C Squadron, posing for a photo before a mission in Somalia (1993), as part of Task Force Ranger, some time before the “Battle of Mogadishu” (the “Black Hawk Down” incident).U.S. Army crew of “Super 64”, from 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), in Somalia as part of Task Force Ranger, in 1993, about a month before the “Battle of Mogadishu”. From left to right: Staff Sergeant Thomas Joseph “Tommy” Field, Staff Sergeant William David “Wild Bill” Cleveland, Jr., Winn Mahuron (?), Chief Warrant Officer 4 Raymond A. “Ray” Frank and then-Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael J. “Mike” Durant.U.S. Air Force 24th Special Tactics Squadron (24th STS) members, posing for a photo in Somalia (1993), as part of Task Force Ranger. From left to right: Staff Sergeant Dan Schilling (a Combat Controller, or CCT), then-Technical Sergeant Tim Wilkinson and Master Sergeant Scott Fales (both Pararescuemen, or PJs). Another 24th STS member who integrated the Task Force was Technical Sergeant Jeffrey Bray (another CCT, and Silver Star Medal recipient).U.S. Navy SEAL Operators from Gold Squadron, Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG, a.k.a. “DEVGRU”), posing for a photo while supporting ‘Operation Gothic Serpent’ as part of Task Force Ranger, some time prior to the “Battle of Mogadishu”. Note their Squadron’s golden lion patch being worn by the Operator on the left.A “Delta” Operator from Task Force Ranger, posing with the day’s freshly-killed dinner…“Delta” Operators from Task Force Ranger shortly before the mission to aprehend warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid’s foreign minister, Omar Salad Elmim, and top political advisor, Mohamed Hassan Awale (a quick mission that would spiral out of control and become the “Battle of Mogadishu”).Mogadishu’s Olympic Hotel, the target building for the mission, where Aidid’s trusted advisors would be meeting.Rangers pinned down by enemy fire in the streets of Mogadishu, shortly after “Super 64” had crashed onto the streets (the second helicopter to be shot down there, on October 3, 1993).Aerial view of the crash site of “Super 61” (the first helicopter to be shot down during the mission), over two weeks after the battle.A close-up view of the crash site of “Super 61” in Mogadishu, about a month after the battle.“Delta Force” Sergeant First Class Randall David “Randy” Shughart (left) and Master Sergeant Gary Ivan Gordon (right), who volunteered to be dropped off near the crash site of “Super 64” to protect the helicopter’s surviving crewmembers (which included CWO3 “Mike” Durant), and who died doing just that. Durant was ultimately captured, but was released not long afterwards. The two “Delta” Sergeants were posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions.The “Battle of Mogadishu” was chronicled by author “Mark Bowden” (pseudonym), in his book ‘Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War’ (Signet Books, 1999).“Delta Force” Operators in the late 1990s, during training.A “Delta” team with an interpreter during the invasion phase of the war in Afghanistan, in late-2001 or early-2002.American 1st SFOD–D (A) and British Special Boat Service (SBS) Operators posing for a group photo while working together in Afghanistan during the invasion phase of the war (late-2001, early-2002).American 1st SFOD–D (A) and British Special Air Service (SAS) Operators working together in the invasion phase of the Iraq War, in early/mid-2003.“Delta” Operators (in the background, with black MICH helmets) working alongside conventional forces late in the invasion phase of the Iraq War, in mid-2003.A “Delta” Operator during a night raid shortly after the invasion phase of the Iraq War (circa late-2003).“Delta Force” Operators from C Squadron, as part of Task Force 121, with their Iraqi-American interpreter, Samir, during the capture of Saddam Hussein (‘Operation Red Dawn’, December 2003).When found, Hussein tried to resist capture. In his struggle, he was hit in the head by one of the “Delta” Operators with an M4 carbine’s buttstock, and was then immediately disarmed and restrained — he had a Glock model 18C automatic pistol on him (plus an AK-47 and around US$750K in cash in his “spider hole”).A “Delta” team in Iraq, around 2004, posing for a photo in the early morning after a late night raid. Standing with them for the photo, on the right end, is Navy SEAL Operator Mark Owen (pseudonym), from Gold Squadron, NSWDG (a.k.a. “DEVGRU”), who was attached to “Delta” during a deployment rotation that year, when “Delta” needed more “hands on deck” to assist with their overload of missions.Owen, after his retirement from service in 2012, wrote with journalist and author Kevin Maurer two memoirs chronicling his Navy SEAL career: ‘No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy SEAL — The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden’ (Dutton Penguin, 2012) and ‘No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL’ (Dutton Penguin, 2013).A “Delta” team posing for a photo before going out for a mission in Iraq (circa 2005).A “Delta” team in Iraq posing for a photo after a night mission (circa 2005).“Delta” Operators during an early morning patrol in Iraq, in late 2005.“Delta” Operators during a night mission in Iraq, in mid-2006, testing an early iteration of the Scorpion W2/MultiCam camouflage pattern.A 1st SFOD–D (A) Operator (left) and a British SAS Operator (right) working together during a night mission in Iraq, as part of Task Force 145 (circa 2007).“Delta” Operators in Iraq (circa 2009), likely working alongside Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF).Master Sergeant Kevin Holland, speaking at a Veteran’s Day ceremony. By 1995, Holland had already been a U.S. Navy SEAL, and had served nearly four years as an Assaulter in “DEVGRU” before retiring from service.With the launch of the War on Terror and ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ in 2001, Holland had wanted to re-enlist into DEVGRU, but some friends recommended that he instead try out for the “Army Special Missions Unit”, which was already deploying personnel to Afghanistan, early on. He followed his firends’ recommendations, made it into “Delta Force”, and served another ten years in the unit, finally retiring in 2013.Holland is one of the few publicly-known examples of US military personnel transitioning to “Delta” from organizations other than the Army Special Forces — in his case, not just that, but transitioning from another branch (the Navy) and another SMU (“DEVGRU”).A “Delta” team during a training exercise, around 2014. Note their HK416 CQB carbines, specially-configured to fire Simunition (paint) rounds.“Delta” Operators in Burkina Faso, in 2014, during a counter-terrorism response alongside French SOF (far-left, with face cover).A Kurdish Commando’s helmet cam footage (stills taken from video footage) during the Hawija (Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq) hostage rescue mission on October 22, 2015, in which some seventy hostages were liberated from an ISIS prison by “Delta” Operators and Rangers, alongside local Kurdish fighters.Another image from the Hawija mission.Liberated hostages being directed by Kurdish Commandos and “Delta” Operators to leave the compound and await extraction.“Delta” Operators maneuvering during the firefight while leaving the area after the hostages were secured.A photo of Master Sergeant Joshua Lloyd “Josh” Wheeler, a 1st SFOD–D (A) Operator and former Ranger with 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, who perished during the Hawija rescue mission. He died leading his team through the firefight; his last words were, reportedly, “On me!”.Master Sergeant “Josh” Wheeler, posing for a photo with his “Delta” team, holding a US flag (circa 2014). They’re wearing custom Desert Tigerstripe-pattern camouflaged uniforms.Official portrait of Command Sergeant Major Thomas Patrick Payne, a member of the 1st SFOD–D (A), formerly from Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was a Sergeant First Class with the “Delta” team in the Hawija rescue mission, and distinguished himself during the action.Command Sergeant Major Thomas Patrick Payne being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Donald John Trump in a ceremony at the White House, on Semptember 11, 2020.“Delta” Operators (foreground) in Northern Syria, in late-2017, working alongside the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as part of ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’ (OIR).One of Ibrahim al-Samarrai’s (a.k.a. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”) last images, from an interview. He was the self-proclaimed “Caliph” and leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).A mid-2019 aerial view from a surveillance drone (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV) of Baghdadi’s safehouse (top) in the town of Barisha, in Harem District (Idlib Governorate, Syria).UAV footage of the “Delta” element on the ground, assaulting Baghdadi’s compound on October 26–27, 2019 (‘Operation Kayla Mueller’). Realizing he wouldn’t escape the “Delta” Operators chasing him through his escape tunnels, Baghdadi detonated his suicide vest. The compound was bombed and levelled to the ground shortly after the mission’s completion.Official portrait of Conan, the Belgian Malinois ‘Special Operations Military Working Dog’ (SOMWD) that accompanied the “Delta” team during the 2019 Barisha raid.Conan was injured during the mission due to exposed live electric wires on the scene, but made a quick and full recovery. There is a lot of support for him to be awarded a Purple Heart Medal for his combat injuries.

Long before a tank gunner or tank commander ever fire a live tank training round, they go through hours and hours of training in the Conduct of Fire Trainer.There are several Conduct of Fire Trainers. The first one an armor crewman will train on is at the Armor School (formerly at Fort Knox, but now at Benning). It is the Institutional Conduct of Fire Trainer, called the I-COFT. When it was at Knox, it was housed in an air conditioned building with dozens of these trainers.The COFT is basically a huge, two man video game. A third man is the instructor who controls the video game and also acts as the loader and driver in the simulations. All active duty units have one available at their duty station called the U-COFT for Unit Conduct of Fire Trainer. National Guard units have tractor trailer based ones called M-COFT for Mobile Conduct of Fire Trainer.You are trained on “switchology”, that is learning to do everything from turning on the fire control system, inputting ammunition lot number correction factors, barometric pressure, temperature, adjusting the illumination of your sight reticle, using the laser range finder, learning how to recognize a bad laser return, crosswind sensor data, ammunition type selection, use of the daylight sight, thermal sight, auxiliary sight and anything else require to be a gunner or commander of a main battle tank.Think of this in terms of doing the tutorial portion of a current video game.Every commander and gunner will go through the COFT during train up prior to their next gunnery. Having the TC and gunner in sync is vital and the Army tries to maintain qualified TC/gunner combinations. Sometimes as the tank commander gets promoted, he even takes his gunner with him.This might happen if a staff sergeant makes sergeant first class and becomes a platoon sergeant within his platoon. He would take his gunner from his wingman tank and they would become the TC/gunner of the platoon sergeant tank. It could also happen is a platoon leader becomes the XO of the company; he might take his platoon leader tank gunner with him when he becomes the tank commander of the XO tank.Once TC/gunner combinations are set and crews all assigned, the tank crews go through individual skills training called Tank Crew Gunnery Skills Training (TCGST). There are multiple stations for each and every crew member. They training on assembly/disassembly of the breach block, machine guns, various crew duties like loading the main gun, prep to fire checks, etc.Once the individual skills are trained, the crews go through the various “dry fire” (no ammo) Tank Tables I, II, III and IV. These train crew duties, tracking targets, target acquisition, etc.Then the unit goes to the gunnery range. The first Tank Table with actual bullets is Tank Table V (TTV). This trains the crew on machine gun targets; both day and night, moving and stationary, at least one day and one night engagement in and NBC environment.Tank Table VI is the first one in which the crew fires the main gun. It is often fired from a stationary tank.Tank Table VII is often the hardest; it is the train up before the qualification gunnery.Tank Table VIII is basically the Super Bowl of tank gunnery. Every tank in the battalion is competing against every other tank from the newest TC/gunner combination to the oldest crew. A perfect score is 1000. Distinguished is 900–1000, superior is 800–899. Qualified is 700–799.There are ten engagements, each engagement is worth 100 points.Below 699 is unqualified and will require the crew to redo any engagement in which they failed. Once they have refired those engagements and brought their score up to 700+, they will be considered qualified, but they will be a second run qualified or Q2. Being Q2 as a tanker is sort of shameful.No, I have never Q2′d and my lowest gunnery score is 868. I’m still a little salty with my gunner over that score. He forgot to turn on the laser range finder after the degraded gunnery engagement and missed the next target on the first round. Had he made that engagement first round, we might have beaten my platoon sergeant’s score.The tank commander doesn’t evaluate or qualify the gunner. The tank commander, gunner and entire crew qualify the tank and are evaluated by Tank Crew Evaluators (TCE) that are qualified tank commanders from other battalions who receive additional training to evaluate tank crews.The next four Tank Tables, IX, X, XI and XII are section and platoon gunnery.