KNIGHTS OF THE ARMOR FORCE

“We Forge the Thunderbolt”

History of the Master Gunner Course

 
In the wake of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 senior U.S. Army leaders had begun to analyze recent armor battles. At that time the Armor Force found its self in a similar situation as today, the Army was drawing down from its Vietnam-era, jungle/guerrilla warfare mentality and focus. Fortunately the Chief of Staff of the Army at that time was General Creighton W. Abrams. He of course was a famous World War II tanker and he understood the importance of tank gunnery. He ordered an analysis of the situation and subsequently senior officers at the Armor School conducted a staff study to determine the best way to improve Armor unit readiness and gunnery proficiency. The study included visits with commanders in the field, and determined that each unit should have a tank expert to assist the commander and advise him in developing and executing his gunnery program. Thus the master gunner concept was born in the American Armor Force. Drawing on a British Army tradition, the term master gunner is derived from the phrase “master of gunnery,” with a master being defined as a workman (NCO) qualified to teach apprentices (armor crewman) and to carry on his trade independently. Gunnery is defined as the art and science of constructing and operating guns. In the British Army highly skilled noncommissioned officers were selected to attend specialized gunnery instruction at the Royal Armoured Corps Gunnery School, at Lulworth, England. After TRADOC favorably reviewed the staff study, the Armor School was directed to develop a program of instruction.

 

The First Master Gunner Course

General Abrams directed the Armor School to conduct a “Master Gunnery Course” on a one-time-only basis, teaching advanced gunnery subjects on the M60A1, M551, and M60A2 tank systems. The Armor School’s pilot for the M60A1 graduated 12 students on May 16th, the M551 course graduated 10 students on October 3rd, and the M60A2 course graduated five students on December 18, 1975. Teaching these courses were NCOs selected from recent ANCOC graduates and instructors assigned to the Armor School’s Maintenance and Weapons Departments who possessed tank systems expertise. The initial quotas of 12 students per class were divided equally between CONUS and USAREUR.

 

 

 

Master Gunner Instructor and Student

Master Gunner instructors go though an extensive “instructor check-out” process. Therefore they are experts on the subject being presented. The second essential element is the student. Each Master Gunner Candidate must come to the course trained to baseline proficiency standard and must be proficient in the fundamentals of the tank system. These two elements combine to complete the concept of Master Gunner training, taking a soldier who is proficient in his tank, and turning him into an expert.

 

Training

The Master Gunner student is trained to be the resident tank gunnery expert in the unit and commander’s tank gunnery advisor in this area. He will assist the commander and the staff in planning, developing, conducting and monitoring the unit’s tank gunnery program, to include turret maintenance programs to ensure proper readiness posture is maintained. To become a Master Gunner, the student faces the most academically challenging training that an Armor Noncommissioned Officer can face. Since the inception of the Master Gunner Course standards have always been 100 percent to pass the hands-on performance tests and 90 percent to pass written tests. Written tests are usually 10-question free response tests covering each subject area. This high standard has been passed down from generation to generation among this group of elite Armor NCOs known as Master Gunners.

 

The Future

The future of the Mater Gunner Program is uncertain. With the current situation of deployments in support of the GWOT it is hard to find 19Ks who even meet the prerequisites of the course. Additionally, the move of the Armor School to Fort Benning will bring many changes to the standards of all Armor training. Some of the changes will be quick, and in the form of orders from the Infantry commander of the so called Maneuver Center of Excellence. Others will be in the form of a slow moving convergence of Armor tasks with the “70% mentality” of the Infantry Center. It is feared that the high standards of Abrams Master Gunner course may be among the first casualties of the move to Fort Benning. Once standards are lowered it is very hard to regain them. It will be up to Master Gunners both active and retired as well as all Armor leaders to stand up and fight to maintain the high standards of this institution.