A Technical Writer’s Descent into the M1A1 Abrams Tank

I am high on life and smelling like hydraulic fluid and gunpowder. I've got scrapes on my knees and elbows, a cut on my head, and a smile on my face as wide as the loader's seat in an M1A1 Abrams tank. How do I know how wide the loader's seat is, you ask? BECAUSE I WAS SITTING ON IT!!!!!!

Today was vehicle training for me and four other folks here in Huntsville. One of our jobs will be to run the diagnostics software on the tank to test for fault codes, so we were put through a pretty intense safety training mission which included blowing the exhaust doors on the vehicle building. The fire drill part only took about a minute – our instructor showed us the fire extinguisher hull handle, then gave a rundown of how many gallons of gasoline and hydraulic fluid and oil the tank holds, then pointed to the door, and said, one word. You guessed it: RUN.

When I first walked in the vehicle section of the building, I was greeted by the turret cannon -- pointed straight at the door -- and I stopped dead in my tracks and said WHOA. When you're editing the manuals you see the drawings and photos but you don't really grasp just how HUGE this thing is until you see it up close and personal. Boy, did we!

The whole tank including the turret is over 10 feet tall, and the caterpillar tracks come up to my shoulders. We climbed up onto the hull via a ten-step steel ladder, and ladies went first (that would be me, in case you're wondering who the "lady" was). First off was the driver's seat. The instructor gestures to the big gaping hole on top of the hull and says, "Hop in!" I look around, like, who me? And then I did. Well, not exactly HOP in; I tentatively started to put one foot in then backed up and regrouped, put the other foot in, got one hand on the edge for balance, was sort of stuck in that position while I "walked" my other leg to the edge, then finally just sat down on the edge and stretched one leg down until I touched the seat. It reclines like a dentist's chair, practically horizontal, and the opening itself is only about a foot wider than my shoulders, so it's a pretty tight fit until you get inside. I was allowed to look out the periscope, pull and set the parking brake (BANG!!!), adjust the driver's seat and headrest, and raise the seat for driving with my head outside the hatch.

Then it was up to the turret was went. It fits three crewmembers, and this time I was last so I was the Loader. The other guys got to pull the triggers and stuff while I had to do all the “work”. I unlocked the turret for the Gunner to send it in a circle, then I unlocked and unpinned the 120mm cannon; the Gunner moved it up and down in normal mode, then in manual mode. The Commander got to spin the 360-degree periscope and “fire” his 50mm machine gun. Then we looked in the ammo compartment. It opens with a loud hiss and a spray of vapor that smells faintly of hydraulic fluid. Everything you do is loud and magnified in the small space you're in. When the cannon goes up and down, the back end of it is inside the hatch with us, so you really have to watch your body parts. Talk about keeping your hands and feet inside the ride at all times!

I was so proud to have been able to actually board one of the vehicles I support, and I came away from the experience ecstatic to be in the field we are in and with tons more appreciation for those men & women that we consider our customers, the soldiers in the field.