By 
Units of the 2nd Infantry Division will receive new M1A2 Abrams Tanks and M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles from December 2010 to May 2011.The new vehicles are an upgrade to the current fleet of 2nd I.D.’s combat vehicles in South Korea. The new vehicles are fitted with improved tracking systems, fire control systems, and improved armor that better equips the 2nd Infantry Division for the battlefield of the 21st century.
“While this is not an increase in the number of U.S. combat vehicles on the Korean Peninsula,” said Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, 8th Army commander. “It is a significant increase in combat capability.”
“Our Soldiers will be equipped with the most advanced tank in the world,” added Johnson. “We owe it to our Soldiers to provide them with the best equipment available.”
This type of operation is a routine force modernization process for the U.S. Army. The older vehicles will be shipped back to the U.S. to be completely refurbished.
“This is part of the Army’s modernization plan,” said Johnson. “It will keep our forces at the highest level of readiness.”
“It is also a key indicator of the importance our Army places on troops here in Korea,” he said. [USFK website]
7:28 pm on January 2nd, 2011 1
Old news. The tanks are already parked on Camp Casey.
8:33 pm on January 2nd, 2011 2
"Hey.. we already did this… but maybe we can milk it for a few headlines."
"But Sir, the North Korean agents working on Cp. Casey already reported this months ago."
"Don't bother me with the facts Colonel!!!"
11:11 pm on January 2nd, 2011 3
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by GIKorea. GIKorea said: New blog post: 2ID to Receive Updated Tanks & Bradleys http://rokdrop.com/2011/01/02/2id-to-receive-updated-tanks-bradleys/ [...]
9:14 am on January 3rd, 2011 4
Equipment is only as good as the soldier operating it. Hope they have Wii and XBOX type controls.
11:27 am on January 3rd, 2011 5
OT,
Fortunately the M1A1(2) does operate like a video game. Driver gets a good motorcycle like steering column complete with para-scope, gunner gets that cool controller that you look down into, complete with telescopic sights and laser range finder. One the biggest kicks I ever got was when the tankers let me actually fire the main gun at Knox.
11:40 am on January 3rd, 2011 6
Why did you fire the main gun at Knox?
Someotherguy said, "This shyt rocks,"
and focused on his target locks.
The main gun fired at poor Knox
and Fox in Socks shat bricks and blocks.
12:05 pm on January 3rd, 2011 7
SOG,
Ahh the M1A2, yes Thermal sights,50x magnification. All those weapons, 120 mm Smooth bore main gun, 50 cal TC weapon, 7.62 mm coax and M240 for the loader.
Don't forget the Commander's Independant viewer.
All those neat toys!!
But, to know how to use it to maxomum effect is what I'm talking about.
The Commander needs to Id the target(s), evaluate the lethality and priority, make a decision on the weapon and ammo to use for the engagement and give the proper Commands to the crew to destroy the target without confusion.
Not that easy, when the Gunner is looking down a "stove pipe' at an RPG team, the loader has Troops to the left, and the Commander sees troops to the right, up a slope.
See how quickly the whole world falls apart as soon as 1 guy yells "IDENTIFIED TROOPS"!!!
A well trained Commander would evaluate the situation.
And give…
Situational Command. "Driver Stop","Driver speed up", "Driver stop, and/or backup." .
"Gunner coax Troops, Direct front, Fire and Adjust."
or "Gunner Cannister. Troops,Fire and Adjust" if that round is preloaded in the tube.
"Loader, "two forty, troops Left Front, FIRE and adjust!!"
"Caliber Fifty." (Commander engages troops to the right)
Every Command has a distinct meaning, all of the crewmembers knows, and reacts.
Any idea the years of training it takes for a crew to execute such an engagement effectively?
And I'm talking a fully operational tank, no malfunctions or bad weather affecting the laser range finder.
A lot more than a 1 year tour in Korea.
11:37 am on January 4th, 2011 8
You specifically mentioned "Hope they have Wii and XBOX type controls" in a veiled reference to the current Nintendo generation being the current TC's. Every single thing you mentioned is something that comes with experience and good mentoring. And FYI at Knox there is this place called the Mounted Maneuver Battle Lab which house's a giant simulation center for tank battles. There are a good 30+ units inside this giant warehouse, each unit is a full simulation unit of a M1A1 complete with intercom and all the movement / engagement controls and C2 systems involved. Dozens of LCD screens are installed where all the windows / view ports would normally be, its like a flight simulator but for a tank instead. All those sim units are connected to a suite of Solaris servers running the software that controls the virtual world the tanks move around in. Its pretty cool substitute considering the US Military rarely gets into large scale armor battles anymore.
Anyhow when I was stationed at Knox one of my jobs was to assist the guys in maintaining those systems, got to know them pretty well and they let us do our STT inside their sims every now and then. Ever wondered what happens when you put a bunch of computer geeks inside a giant tank sim? We got our a$$es kicked horribly by the computer, it wasn't till then that I understood how bad the drift on a HEAT round could be (the computer faithfully recreates the physics and weather effects).
This is also how I ended up getting to fire the main gun during a gunnery, I was friends with the guys running range control and some of the people qualifying on the range. After they were finished they fired of some rounds.
Knox really was an interesting assignment.
11:44 am on January 4th, 2011 9
A properly performed PMCS every once in a while doesn't hurt either…
1:33 pm on January 6th, 2011 10
SOG, Yes I referred to game controls because, 'I am an "Old school" guy. Nothing replaces hours of study of the TM's and FM's regarding the soldier craft, this case tankers. Time in the field is as important, doing everything in that environment.
Today's Army has a lot of Simulations, to the point of almost forgetting "on hands" training.
I still work with soldiers, and I ask a tanker about his "Auxilliary Sight" and the "Ballistic Reticle", and he doesn't have a clue what I'm talking about.
Since the wars of 9/11 I have seen the basic skills of Tank Crewmen decline, I'm just pointing out that the M1A2 is great, but the crew needs to know what they are doing to use it effectively.
1:36 pm on January 6th, 2011 11
LEON!!! You are so right a good PMCS is ritical, IMO more important is a new Tank, so much less likely to have problems.
Keep them new tanks coming to Korea. Kinda like a car.
12:06 pm on January 9th, 2011 12
Yes a proper PMCS is amazing. OT I fail to see what book / technical knowledge has to do with play-station controllers. You comment was obviously derisive towards the younger soldiers who grew up playing video-games, you shouldn't attempt to link that with job performance because the two have absolutely no connection. Soldiers now are trained to the standard set to them by the US Army and their senior leadership. If you have a problem with the quality / standard of training then take it to the leadership, don't blame the soldiers.
The US Army use's simulations because we don't do large force on force engagements that involve armor very often. Heavy armor is typically possessed only by well funded forces, usually only of a state size. And currently none of those are stupid enough to enter into a major conflict with the USA. The computer controlled simulations are there to give some semblance of experience to solders who would otherwise have absolutely none.
As for the technical nomenclature, there is a reason we divide these things into different knowledge levels. I'm fairly sure you operate a general purpose computer at sometime during your daily job functions. I don't expect you to understand what a network stack is, the difference between ring 0, 1 and 2 level access, or anything about a hardware abstraction layer. It would be better for you to know those things, but honestly their not required for your daily function. In that same manor the US Army Armor Corps has already decided what each level of knowledge will be for tankers. Some things you need to have memorized and readily re-callable, others you can afford to just reference in a TM / FM when required. Again if you disagree with what these standards are set to then take it up with the Armor Corps not the soldiers.