3rd Annual Tanker Homecoming October 17-19, 2014

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]
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Gallery
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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!