Whenever you think you’re having a bad day, just refer back to this post. Now, your failures don’t seem so bad, when compared to this sideways tank do they? I know, we all have our epic fail moments in life. Usually, they involve things like locking our keys inside the truck, or forgetting to secure the bass boat and trailer to our hitch.
Yet, when you enter the world of turning over tanks, you have reached an entirely different level of failure. Bottom line, this guy is having a very bad day. The unfortunate thing for him is that he cannot even claim the classic standby man card. You know what that one is, right? It’s always, and I quote, “The sun was in my eyes”.
Two Best Excuses When You Roll Over A Tank
That may work when you’re trying to catch a fly ball, or you have tossed a wayward cast. However, inside a tank, there’s no sun. That card won’t play here. Yet, there are a few other out cards if you find yourself in this situation.
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1. Line of Sight
For starters, there is only one clear line of sight inside a military grade tank. That line of sight happens to be just that, a straight line. Therefore, when you
1. Line of Sight
For starters, there is only one clear line of sight inside a military grade tank. That line of sight happens to be just that, a straight line. Therefore, when you pop a tank up onto a loading trailer, you’re only view is that of the sky. This poor soldier would have no more clue as to his direction then a blind bird. He is completely relying on context clues, and help that could be shouted from the loader standing nearby. If I were him, I would get ready to pull out that card just before my drill sergeant had me drop and give him another 50.
2. It’s Not a Tank
Yet, there is one more fantastic card to play here. That is simply this… The vehicle pictured in this video is not a tank at all. What, you are not a military vehicle expert? I thought for sure you would notice that this is a self-propelled howitzer, AMX AuF1. It is designed to do one thing very well, blow stuff up. It can withstand any number of return fire, and as such, is a great gun to have by your side in battle. Imagine taking fire and simply radioing in to your buddy to move the howitzer into position. That’s a handy way to solve any problem right there my friends!
The Story Behind This Particular Howitzer
The self-propelled howitzer is designed to essentially be a heavy gunner, and not necessarily an all-terrain vehicle like a traditional tank. Therefore, it is a bit more lightweight, and somewhat more touchy with its hand. Long story short, you have to be able to stop the self-propelled howitzer on a dime if you want to make a successful trailer load up. This is not stuff for the faint of heart. I’m sure the guy behind the controls was not a newbie, or they would not have even let him try to attempt such a thing.
This is the kind of maneuver reserved for seasoned pros. It takes practice and skill. In fact, that’s exactly the skill they were practicing in this video as it turns out. This was footage taken from a joint training exercise in January 2010 with the UN and the Lebanese army. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, it will take more than buffing out paint to fix the howitzer. Anytime a tank tread vehicle rolls over, you are presented with a host of problems. The only guy that gets happy about this sort of thing is the base mechanic. He loves pulling things a part, cleaning them up and putting them back together in proper working order. Everyone else just seems to get really prolific at cursing. I’m sure a lot of that was tossed back and forth, yet our clip is but a snapshot in time, so we have no insight in to how much salty language was used.
So what’s the moral of the story here? Well, I’m not sure there is one. I would say that watching this tank like military vehicle rollover reminds me of the sacrifices our military personnel contend with on a daily basis. I mean let’s be honest, most of us will never know what it’s like to roll over a tank. Most of us will never take enemy fire or spend months apart from our family and friends.
Yet, for our US military, that’s commonplace. Think about that the next time you get frustrated waiting in line at the grocery store, or mad at the fact that your favorite auto parts store doesn’t have your custom piece in stock. These guys put up with a lot to keep us safe, and this video proves that danger is always present. The next time you see a serviceman, thank them for their service. You don’t have to be on foreign soil to find yourself in a threatening situation. Sometimes, it happens when you’re just trying to load up a tank.
