Photo By Sgt. Kelsey Wagoner | Pfc. Katherine Garcia works on the Abrams tank in the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT BLISS, Texas - The M1A2 Abrams Tank is a massive piece of equipment weighing just over 62 tons. It is 32 feet long, 12 feet wide and eight feet tall. The immense M256A1 120 mm Smooth Bore gun is accompanied by three machine guns and an optional upgrade kit for a fourth. It takes a special kind of person, male or female, to work out the intricacies on a vehicle this large.
Pfc. Corissa Johnson and Pfc. Katherine Garcia, both M-1 Abrams tank system maintainers, recently completed Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia, to become tank system mechanics. They’ve reported to 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, home of the “Regulars,” at Fort Bliss, where they’re putting newly-attained skills to work.
“When I went in to the counselor to pick my job, he told me this MOS had just opened up to females, so I thought that sounds like a challenge,” said Johnson, “that sounds like something I want to do.”
The Oklahoma native’s military aspirations didn’t include becoming a tank mechanic.
“I definitely wasn’t shooting for this (military occupation specialty) at first, but I just wanted to carry on the family tradition of being in the Army and serving our country,” said Johnson, who originally wanted to be a military police officer.
Garcia realized she would be making history by performing her military job and is happy just being one of the team.
“I was told it was going to be a male-dominant field, and I was actually excited to work and be one of the first females [in this career field],” said Garcia. “They [co-workers] treat me as a Soldier. I don’t think it really matters to them, they treat everybody the same and they’re all pretty cool.”
“They’re here, they’re motivated, they want to work and we treat them just as Soldiers,” said Staff Sgt. Andre Mills, the unit’s Abrams tank maintenance supervisor.
The 1st Armored Division’s annual Network Integration Evaluation Exercise allows Soldiers to put into practice the skills they need in a combat environment and it keeps them prepared to deploy at a moment’s notice. The upcoming exercise is Johnson’s and Garcia’s second training event, where they will have to perform even better than the last.
“This next one they are going to be pushing us harder, and when you push the tanks harder, they break,” added Johnson.
A mechanic’s life isn’t for everyone but, both Johnson and Garcia offer the same advice: just give it a shot. You don’t know if it’s right for you unless you go for it.
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2014 10:59 |
| Story ID: | 145966 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TX, US |
| Hometown: | INDIANAPOLIS, IN, US |
| Hometown: | TULSA, OK, US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 'The Regulars' now have two female tank repairers, by SGT Kelsey Wagoner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT