American tank crews were stopped in their tracks earlier this month when they failed to even place in the top three slots of an American-sponsored NATO tank competition.
Taking place at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany, the three-day competition was jointly-hosted by the US Army and German Bundeswehr, according to Popular Mechanics. The event involved Germany, Denmark, Italy, Poland and Slovenia as well as the US, sending 1-2 platoons of four tanks, respectively.
The competition is the first of it’s kind held since 1991, when the Soviet Union dissolved. With the competition geared toward developing armored warfare skills, the tank competition is directly correlated with the NATO mindset of countering the aggressively-behaving Russian Federation.
The tank crews were involved in offensive and defensive exercises, including obstacle courses, dismounted marksmanship and gunnery ranges. Other events involved dealing with IEDs, chemical attacks and medical emergencies.
Germany took first place with their new Leopard 2A6 armor, while Denmark and Poland took second and third using the older model of Leopard. The United States’ rank is unknown- it is only known that their M1A2 crews failed to make the top three.
This isn’t the first time the US Army’s Armor Corps has been handed their pride on a platter- Active Duty units were beaten in the US Army’s 2016 Sullivan Cup by a college student, aspiring police officer, insurance adjustor and Pepsi truck driver from the North Carolina National Guard, who took first place- with other competitors being the US Marines and Canadian Army.
Concerned with the Army’s performance in regards to modern warfare potential, Army Chief of Staff Mark Milley told the New York Times earlier this month that “today, a major in the Army knows nothing but fighting terrorists and guerrillas, because he came into the Army after 9/11. But as we get into the higher-end threats, our skills have atrophied over 15 years.”
With the “higher-end” threats being that of Russia. The US Army may need to train for armored warfare against a competent -or even superior- enemy once again. With the Russians building new top-of-the-line armored vehicles to counter the aging M1 Abrams fleet (that Congress continues to force upon the US Army, despite requests to stop producing new ones), American armor crews may risk more than a lost competition in the future if their performances continue to be subpar.
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