USABOT Volume 1, Issue 1 Special points of interest: 3rd Annual Tanker Homecoming From the Commander’s Hatch Fall 2014 3rd Annual Tanker Homecoming October 17-19, 2014 Mount Up & Ride To The Sounds Of The Brotherhood. Friday – Arrivals and Meet and Greet. Come & Enjoy Food, Drinks, Camaraderie & Tall Tales. Friday Night – 1900 Meeting in Conference Hall. National/ Battalions opportunity to brief Members. Stand On The Grounds That Patton & Other Tankers & Tank Mechanics, Including Yourself, Once Stood. Inside this issue: 3rd Annual Tankers 2 Homecoming Come & Relive Your Memories Of The Proud Home Of Armor & Cavalry, Fort Knox Kentucky. Our Place In Time 4 Buckeye Bn. Tank Rescue 4 For The New Generation Of Fort Benning Tankers & Mechanics, Join Us.. Meet Your Living Armor History. Southern Bn. Newest Battalion 4 From the Gunner’s 5 Station West Coast Bn. Gunnery 5 South East Bn. Museum Visit 5 From the Supply Room 6 See Where Past Tankers & Mechanics Were Made Of Blood & Guts, Fire & Steel. Meet Your Lineage, Talk, Interact With Them. Share Your Knowledge Of Current Armor Vehicles & Technology! You are The Future Leaders & Guardians of USABOT!! 2030 – Auction Vendor tables set up by 1800 thru close. Saturday – Meet 0830 in conference room for briefing and chalk break out. Saturday Proposed Timeline 0900-1100 – Tours 1100-1300 – Lunch 1300-1630 – Tours Saturday Night – Dinner 1900 with 1630-1730 – Retreat (rehearsal, Social Hour after. Dinner catered. Retreat & photo opportunity) Vendors can have tables set up 1730-1900 – Free time during dinner and social hour. 1900-2200 – Dinner/Social Hour Sunday – Knob Creek Gun Range/ Free Time/ Departures. This is another day for freedom of maneuver amongst the members. Again battalions or groups can get together and see things not on the agenda and hang out. From the Commanders Hatch Jim Benham, USABOT National Commander Greetings Brothers! USABOT is growing and our future is bright! Our mission is great, our goals are pure and our cause is just. Dedicated volunteers are working behind the scenes to establish our charter in Kentucky, update our by-laws, firming up our status as a non-profit veteran’s organization, and establishing a solid base for USABOT. Eleven field battalions have been formed or in the process of forming, and several have had outstanding ground events. Several display tank “spruce ups” have been completed and more are in the planning stages. Our public page is visited by thousands every day. USABOT has reached out to help our brothers in crisis, and by our very presence they know they are not alone. Each and every brother is special. In a very short period of time USABOT has touched many thousands of tankers and tank mechanics, and we will touch many more thousands. USABOT needs our brothers, and our brothers surely need USABOT! STAY ON THE TANK! Page 2 USABOT Tank Trails OCTOBER 17-19, FORT KNOX, KY The months are rolling by and we are getting closer and closer to Homecoming! Get your rooms reserved and arrange your travel plans. This is going to be another epic event in USABOT history. You don't want to miss out on the stories, tales and Blue Falconry! Get the chance to finally meet all We have some WW2 Tankers that we are going to be presented with their memberships into USABOT. Plans are being worked out for some other speeches and presentations by some other Honorary Lifetime Members of USABOT. those people you have been talking to on Facebook! Deposit information for Homecoming, Friday night meeting is $10 per person, Saturday Night Dinner is $15 per person, Payments can be sent thru Paypal to [email protected] Or you can mail a check or Money Order to Phil Wilburn Patton BN USABOT 5719 Prince William St ST Matthews KY 40207 We are using the Hampton Inn and Suites at Radcliff as the Headquarters for the event. Rooms can be booked using the C-BOT code to get the convention discount. Deadline on the rooms is September 17th. Page 3 USABOT Tank Trails Ohio West Virginia New York Maryland New Jersey Vermont Pennsylvania Maine Connecticut Rhode Island New Hampshire Kentucky Indiana Illinois Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Washington Utah Oregon Nevada Idaho Arizona California Alaska Hawaii Texas Europe Colorado Wyoming New Mexico Montana Florida Georgia Alabama Louisiana Mississippi Page 4 USABOT Tank Trails Our Place in Time Glenn Husted, National G2 "Reverse the precedence of branch designation between armor and cavalry and flag all mounted maneuver formations as cavalry" MAJ Thomas A Rebuck At the time of this writing, the future of Tankers are faced with a sustained desire by the US Army to convert Armor into Cavalry. As we all know, the Armored Force established as an experiment in 1940. It showed the world what Tank Battalions were capable of especially when properly supported. During those years, the Cavalry provided the best battlefield intelligence of any army in the history of mounted warfare. Each arm used combat vehicles that were purpose built to empower the three different combat arms. By 1991, tank companies had evolved to such a state that the fifth largest armored force in the world was dismantled in 100 hours. Tankers since the 1940s have been the Combat Arm of Decision. They have proved their worth in securing a state of global peace and dominating any enemy when the destinies of nations are at stake. It is therefore sad tidings that today submissions to Ar- Buckeye “Ironhorse” Battalion John Winters, XO Buckeye Battalion “We got the gun tube out of travel lock and got it elevated to where it proudly stands on guard duty for the over 500 veterans there.” In June 2013 the Buckeye Battalion was chartered as the 1st battalion of USABOT. It was agreed that we would rescue tanks in the Buckeye state (Ohio) that were in need of paint and repair. We decided to rescue an M4A3 Sherman at the IOOF Cemetery in Blanchester, Ohio. We met in June 2014 at Battalion CSM Laymon Wilders Camp Swampy. We were well received by all the people of Blanchester, many stopping by to thank us for what we was doing for the community and telling us stories they had of the tank thru the years. Brothers on hand to to the work were Laymon Wilder, Jeffrey Toole, Ken Lancaster, Bryan Seifert, Thomas Holly Wood Pooler, John Summers and John mor magazine conclude that Cavalry should be the only mounted maneuver arm. For those of us who have Forged the Thunderbolt, it is a position that we will continue to monitor with steel resolve that our branch "Armor" is worth supporting. See Armor magazine, March June 2014 issue, page 30 - "Conclusions." http:// www.benning.army.mil/armor/ eARMOR/content/issues/2014/ MAR_JUN/MarApr14_Web_version.pdf Winters, Associate Members, Shelia Winters, Joyce Seifert, Cindy Wilder and Janet Lancaster. A big "TANKS" goes out to Sherwin Williams Paint for the donation of paint and primer, The Blanchester Fire Dept and city crews for the equipment and labor to trim the trees around her. The local pizza place for bringing down pizza to us and to the community of Blanchester for allowing us to rescue their M4 Sherman. Southern “Hellcats” Battalion Eric C. Howard, Commander Southern Battalion The creation of 9th Battalion Hellcats, came to be from the necessity to divide the original Southeast Black Jack Battalion, due to overwhelming area, I discussed with Southeast CO and National staff what it would take to create a new Battalion. I took the fight to the top of the food chain and pursued the creation of a new “Southern” Battalion. The first name for the unit conceived as “Bulldogs” Based on the M-41 Walker Bulldog and the HQ being in Georgia, Ie: Georgia Bulldogs. This was discussed public- ly on the start up of the Facebook page with members who decided to follow at that time. FB page went live as of August 11, 2014. After public discussion of the proposed Battalion name, it was found out that the Texas Battalion currently was using the name Bulldogs, in one of there company level units. It was therefore put to a vote by current followers for a name change. There was many ideas, but everyone seemed to settle on the name Hellcats, originated from the tank destroyer units with M-18 Hellcats. As to not be directly attached to the Hellcats of WW2, we adjusted the iconic patch to suit our needs and went with a similar phrase for our battle cry... Hellcats! Seek & Destroy! 9th Battalion was formally activated as of May 10, 2014 by National command, after successfully submitting all required membership, financial, and SOP documentations. We are proud and maintain a strong presence in the USABOT organization. 9th Battalion territory includes, GA, AL, FL, MS, LA Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5 From the Gunners Station Bink Romanick, National Assistant G3 The national G3 has been busy developing programs for ground operations for USABOT. The programs for recruiting, national support to tank rescues, the formation of battalions and formulation of standardized Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) . We are developing a system of awards for battalions based on standardized criteria which will take the form of streamers for their guidons. The growth of USABOT has caused us to accelerate the development of companies and in some cases platoons. We are developing means to monitor the unit activities in order to report current operations status to the chain. We are responsible for recruiting activities and the development of recruiting literature and several brochures have been developed. The goal for our recruiting activities currently is to convert Facebook members into full paid members of the brotherhood. The battalions have conducted many exciting activities such as Gettysburg trips, the Gowen Field Gunnery, tank rescues, museum support and visits, social activities and other activities geared to provide the brotherhood with opportunities to socialize and enhance fellowship. We monitor these activities ands report to the chain. We will be developing a monthly report for the chain from the battalion in order to keep the chain and the broth- erhood informed... It's an exciting time for the brotherhood and we encourage you to join your local battalion and enjoy the opportunities that affords you. STAY ON THE TANK! West Coast “Kellys Hero’s” Battalion On July 10th thru 13th The Kelly's Heroes West Coast Battalion with our companies from Northern Washington to Southern California as far as Nebraska participated in a live fire gunnery south of Boise, ID. Tankers old and new had the opportunity to climb on the M1A2SEP, thanks to the Oregon National Guard 3rd BN 116th CAV. For you Mechs also the Hercules. We helped to Boresight, Ground Guide, spot downrange, drive, ride and just get to give our input and learn from the troops. There is not enough space here to tell all the awesome stories we have for these days so feel free to contact any of the Kelly's Heroes that attended and look at the main page photo album. The Following members were present, Ken Osbourne, Sean Provart, Chad Thaut, Greg Campbell, Dave McCombs, Keith Smith, Thomas McCreary, Clayton Waldron, Craig T. Johnson, Bill Baily, Tim Lacy, Bill Henderson Patrick Holland, Mathew Aamot, William Starks. South East Battalion Visits South Carolina Military Museum and NG Armory 07/26/14 On July 26th the South East Battalion (Black Jack) had their second meeting in Columbia SC. We had 8 members attending, had lunch at Doc's BBQ, then made our way to the South Carolina Military Museum next to the South Carolina National Guard Armory. There was an M48A1 and an M-60A3 among other vehicles. The weather was good, a good time was had by all and many photos were taken. The South East Battalion covers VA, NC, SC. any one interested in joining the South East Battalion can contact the Commander Jim Lynn on Facebook or by phone (919) 274-3712 or any one in USABOT National can help guide you to where you need to go. Left to Right: Jim Lynn, Davis Francis, Don Williams, Kevin Colson, Tom Alligood, Bob Thurman Kneeling: Tim Wilhite Stay on the Tank US ARMY BROTHERHOOD OF TANKERS www.usabot.org E-mail: [email protected] Facebook www.facebook.com/usabot Twitter @usabotusabot Gallery gallery.usabot.org The US Army Brotherhood of Tankers, Inc. is organized for the purpose of nurturing the brotherhood that exists between US Army Tankers and Mechanics and collecting, preserving, and publicizing the history of the United States Army Armored Forces and other related services that are within its capabilities and resources. Related services may include, but are not limited to, collection of artifacts, living history activities, and public education. The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, educational, religious, or scientific purposes within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. While promoting American patriotism and the national defense, we aim to honor and perpetuate the memories of former tankers for their past service and sacrifices while serving as tank crewman. USABOT membership is open to US Army tank crewmen and US Army tank mechanics of all eras, all tanks, and all ranks, who were honorably discharged, retired or are currently serving in any US Army component, to include the regular Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard. National Commander Jim Benham US Army Brotherhood of Tankers is comprised of 11 Battalions Worldwide. National Executive Officer Jeffery Toole We are proud and honored to be Brothers. National CSM Edward Braese National Treasurer Vince Duncan National Corporate Secretary Matthias Kansu Martinez National G1 Adam Gerber National G2 Glenn Husted National G3 Bryan Seifert National G4 Patrick Kerr, Sr National G5 Steve Solomon National G6 Robert Maddigan From the USABOT Supply Room Visit the USABOT Supply Room for all of your USABOT swag! We offer USABOT Annual and Lifetime membership packages (including Associate memberships for your HH6, kids or friends) T-shirts, coffee mugs, patches, hats, pins, decals, beer mugs and challenge coins all with free shipping. Click on a link to support the Brotherhood! PC Users: http://usabot.org/store.htm Mobile Users: http://usabot.ecwid.com/ Thank you and Stay on the Tank!
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