Day in The Life of a Tankman 5

The most startling thing, I think, in tank combat, once one has gotten as used to the carnage and death as possible, is the wide range of skill and professionalism that you see on either side.

I've worked with well-meaning idiots, and people who I would gladly shoot any other day of the week, but when they preemptively put down the tank preparing to blow a hole in yours- and possibly you, the pilot- you'd be surprised at what you're willing to forgive.

I've worked with people who are so nihilistic that they park right next to mine before dropping their most powerful shots onto us both, and then suddenly I'm paired with someone who either has a goddamn tent full of tracers or has spent several lifetimes on the firing range.

In squads of three, when firing in volleys, you learn quickly to radio what you're shooting and who you're shooting at. Nothing upsets the sniper types more than a carefully planned shot going off because someone wasn't paying attention or didn't bother to call, and nothing is more satisfying than watching a well-coordinated strike of a needler, sub-sniper, and bullseye tear a tank to shreds before it can get off a single shot.

One particularly ingenious fellow heard an enemy boasting how he had a sniper round locked on him. His tank was so damaged I thought he was dead. Instead, he threw a wall round down directly in front of him, meaning the shot was absorbed harmlessly. Others will follow up a called funnel shot with grenades and air strikes.

I don't want to make the impression I am some perfect specimen saying a condescending "good job". I have made some very critical errors, the most spectacular of which was somehow destroying my tank with a rebounded sniper round that hit an enemy shield. The only reason I was not summarily executed for suicide is that no one in the brass would believe that I was capable of such a deliberate calculation. Perhaps a more egregious error was when I procured a nuke, and forgot to make sure my barrel cleared the terrain ahead. Taking a bath in rad-away- not a fun thing.

My point is simple- if you're in a tank, you're going to be paired with a wide variety of people. Some people, for better or worse, know exactly what they're doing. Others have no clue. The best advice I can give is to always have a finger on the eject button.

And for God's sake, spread out.