Recently the US military co-hosted the Strong Europe Tank Challenge, the first of its kind since the end of the cold war. It was no doubt an attempt to showcase the overwhelming superiority of Western militaries, and to present NATO’s united front to Russia. Unfortunately, the only thing the US military managed to showcase was its own incompetence.
Tank platoons from Denmark, Slovenia, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States were pitted against each other in a variety of wargames at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. During the three day event, the games tested these tank crews with both offensive and defensive maneuvers, obstacle courses, simulated chemical weapon attacks, medical emergencies, IED’s, and the identification of friendly and unfriendly targets.
Unfortunately the US tank crews didn’t win. In fact, despite being the only nation to provide two tank platoons instead of one, the US didn’t even place. Germany wound up coming in first place, followed by Denmark and Poland.
As Popular Mechanics noted, this wasn’t the first time that the Armor Branch of the US Army has been embarrassed. During a recent competition in the US, a North Carolina National Guard tank platoon with a crew that contained an insurance adjuster, a truck driver, a college student, and an aspiring cop, managed to beat all contenders including active duty tank platoons with the US Army, Marine Corps, and the Canadian Army.