The best tank crews are able to perform all of their tasks, glamorous or not, at a very high level, said a 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, tank crew chief.
"A good crew does everything well," said 1st Lt. Nathan Shaffner, executive officer of Company D, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd ABCT, 1st Inf. Div., and an Atlanta native. "You still need to be able to maintain your tank, you still need to be physically fit and you need to know all those basic Soldier skills to make that tank work. If you're a great shot on the range but you're always calling maintenance, you're not a good crew."
Shaffner and his crew will find out where they stand Army wide as they compete this week in the 2014 Sullivan Cup precision gunnery competition hosted by the Maneuver Center of Excellence and the U.S. Army Armor School at Fort Benning, Ga. The crew, made of Shaffner, Sgt. Daniel Pilkington, Spc. Jonathan Hagen and Pfc. William Chuzie, are representing the "Big Red One" and Fort Riley in the yearly competition. Fewer than 20 crews, including two from Canada, were invited to compete.
"It's an honor and privilege to be able to go, and we've gotten a lot of compliments and encouragement from around the unit," Spc. Jonathan Hagen, an ammunition loader with Co. D, 1st Bn., 63rd Armor Regt., and a Fennimore, Wisc., native, said last week. "I'm not really nervous. I'm just excited to go."
The competition is divided into two main phases. Phase one consists of three days of testing covering warrior tasks and physical fitness, tactical crew tests in a simulator and precision day and night gunnery.
After that, the four highest-scoring crews from phase one will be evaluated based on their performance in the most challenging engagements from the final day of competition.
"The only goal is to go out and do the best that we can," Shaffner said. "I know that sounds clichéd, but I am not going to be upset if it's first place or last place -- as long as I know we left it all out there, as long as we gave everything. And I know we're going to."
Shaffner, Hagen, Pilkington and Chuzie -- vehicle commander, loader, gunner and driver, respectively -- have only been together as a crew since February. All four deployed last summer through December to the Horn of Africa with the "Dragon" battalion.
The group has made rapid progress since coming together.
"We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we share that with the crew," Pilkington said.
Hagen said their strong affinity for one another and calmness under pressure has been noticed by leaders and is likely one of the reasons they were chosen to represent the division at the competition.
"When things go wrong, we don't get frustrated about it, we cheer each other up," he said. "If you do bad on an engagement, just drop it, it's over with, and move on to the next one and do your best."
MEET THE CREW
Name: 1st Lt. Nathan Shaffner
Age: 24
Job: vehicle commander
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Time in service: three years, one deployment: Horn of Africa/Kenya, 2013
Favorite thing about being a tanker: "The biggest thing for me is working as a group and getting to know these guys really well, and I prefer that over working with a larger element any day."
Name: Sgt. Daniel Pilkington
Age: 24
Job: gunner
Hometown: Ripley, Tenn.
Time in service: four years, one deployment: Horn of Africa/Kenya, 2013
Favorite thing about being a tanker: "Working as a four-man crew as opposed to an entire squad of infantry. You're a tight-knit group."
Name: Spc. Jonathan Hagen
Age: 22
Job: loader
Hometown: Fennimore, Wisc.
Time in service: two years, one deployment: Horn of Africa/Kenya, 2013
Favorite thing about being a tanker: "Seeing that big round go downrange."
Name: Pfc. William Chuzie
Age: 21
Job: driver
Hometown: Youngsville, Pa.
Time in service: 19 months, one deployment: Horn of Africa/Kenya, 2013
Favorite thing about being a tanker: "That we can handle any opponent and keep going."
Social Sharing