'The Beast' Gobbling Up IS Fighters In Iraq: US !

[DinarThug]

CNN. Broadcasting In Beast Mode !

 

'The Beast' gobbling up IS fighters in Iraq: US

By AFP

PUBLISHED: 17:02 EST, 13 April 2016 | UPDATED: 17:03 EST, 13 April 2016

 

An American-made Iraqi army tank that locals have fondly nicknamed "The Beast" is playing a major role driving the Islamic State group from a town on the frontlines, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

Baghdad-based spokesman Colonel Steve Warren recounted the exploits of the M-1 Abrams tank in Heet in response to a question about whether the Iraqi military is taking too long to expel IS jihadists and lacks the will to fight.

On Monday, Iraqi security forces (ISF) raised the Iraqi flag over government buildings in Heet, in Anbar province.

 

 

 

Iraqis walk in front of a M-1 US Abrams tank during a patrol south of Baghdad in 2005 ©Yuri Cortez (AFP/File)

"This M-1 tank has been driving all around Heet, crazy, and blasting IEDs (roadside bombs), punching holes in enemy defenses and maneuvering between multiple engagements," Warren said.

"This tank has become a little bit of a folk hero here in Iraq. They've nicknamed this tank 'The Beast.' So now all of a sudden, The Beast has become a thing here."

Warren later retweeted a video of the tank -- provided by the US -- blowing up a car purportedly carrying explosives. Three tanks had initially been deployed to Heet but two were out of the fight for mechanical reasons.

The US military is keen to highlight examples of Iraqi security forces making progress against the IS group, which seized vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, including the key Iraqi cities Ramadi and Mosul.

Despite some major setbacks, including the recapture of Ramadi, the IS group still controls large areas of the two countries and critics have accused the US-backed Iraqi military of lacking the skills and temperament to fight back.

Warren said The Beast illustrates a fresh resolve for Iraqis to fight the IS group and he praised the actions of some units, especially the Peshmerga of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

"We are seeing these examples over and over of small units whose confidence, whose competence, whose morale is growing and strengthening and expanding," he said.

"That tends to have... a ripple effect across units."

"We estimate that 75 percent of the city (Heet) is now clear and that ISF will push (the IS group) completely out of the city in the coming days," he added.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wir.....aq-US.html

[sandfly]

THANKS CLOWN,,, THE UN IS VOTING ON A NEW HEAD. IT'S GOING TO BE A WOMAN. WATCH THE GURUS WHEN THEY FIND OUT ABOUT IT.

[ronscarpa]

Thanks DT...it's a good article..! (+1) 

[10 YEARS LATER]

As a former Abrams Tank Commander . . . Good Onya Boys ! Keep up the good work  !!!!! 

[Boozer]

7 hours ago, sandfly said:

THANKS CLOWN,,, THE UN IS VOTING ON A NEW HEAD. IT'S GOING TO BE A WOMAN. WATCH THE GURUS WHEN THEY FIND OUT ABOUT IT.

wish I could respond but it would be deleted.  

[DinarThug]

3 hours ago, Boozer said:

wish I could respond but it would be deleted.  

KAPERONI'S GOING TO CELEBRATE BY OFFERING ENORRSTE A LAP DANCE !

             

[tankdude]

4 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

As a former Abrams Tank Commander . . . Good Onya Boys ! Keep up the good work  !!!!! 

As a former Abrams Tank Commander - I understand why 2 of them are down for maintenance!!!  Good thing they have 1 workhorse!

[10 YEARS LATER]

9 hours ago, tankdude said:

As a former Abrams Tank Commander - I understand why 2 of them are down for maintenance!!!  Good thing they have 1 workhorse!

A pretty complex machine to be sure TankDude . . . some were like Detroit Lemons [ especially in the early '80s with the first generation of M1 ]. . . others, like the Energizer Bunny - keep going & going & going  - - - Having said that, something makes me think their [ the Iraqi's ]  "Maintenance" might not be what ours was/is like; what with everything being in such disarray out there.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if they had to Cannibalize the other 2 to keep " The Beast " on the move. No telling what the Maintenance Platoon has in the way of Diagnostic equipment. Could be nothing more than a Magic 8 Ball.

Our Maintenance guys in the 11th Armored Cav. '83 - '87, in West Germany were magicians !

An M1 can cause more Havoc in 30 minutes than a Grunt Squad could all day long [ it's an inside comment between Grunts & DAT's - Dumb Azz Tankers ]. I have the highest respect for the Infantry. 

- an M1 is a Lethal Killer on the Battlefield.

[tankdude]

13 hours ago, 10 YEARS LATER said:

A pretty complex machine to be sure TankDude . . . some were like Detroit Lemons [ especially in the early '80s with the first generation of M1 ]. . . others, like the Energizer Bunny - keep going & going & going  - - - Having said that, something makes me think their [ the Iraqi's ]  "Maintenance" might not be what ours was/is like; what with everything being in such disarray out there.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if they had to Cannibalize the other 2 to keep " The Beast " on the move. No telling what the Maintenance Platoon has in the way of Diagnostic equipment. Could be nothing more than a Magic 8 Ball.

Our Maintenance guys in the 11th Armored Cav. '83 - '87, in West Germany were magicians !

An M1 can cause more Havoc in 30 minutes than a Grunt Squad could all day long [ it's an inside comment between Grunts & DAT's - Dumb Azz Tankers ]. I have the highest respect for the Infantry. 

- an M1 is a Lethal Killer on the Battlefield.

That's kind of what I figured 2 - the other 2 are being cannibalized to keep the one running. Not that we EVER did that - not authorized of course...

I agree - the 11th ACR maintenance guys were great!. I was roundup/round out to them from 1998 to 2005 when they were OPFOR at Fort Irwin.

And having been both Armor and Infantry (and Artillery and Cav Scout and Commo - amazing what can happen in a 31 year career) I can tell you - they each have their special areas of Havoc making - but Armor's is more fun in my book...

Oh - and we are now C-DAT - Computerized Dumb A$$ Tankers - or as I tell them - Completely Dedicated Armor Technician.

ALLONS!

[waterman13]

I actually was involved in the early '80's inspecting and repairing the raw castings for the gas turbine housings before they went to machining, must have done a thousand or more of them. All that I have read and seen on the M1 is it is a "lethal weapon."

Go IRAQ! GO!

WM13

Edited April 15, 2016 by waterman13

[ChuckFinley]

On April 14, 2016 at 7:19 AM, 10 YEARS LATER said:

As a former Abrams Tank Commander . . . Good Onya Boys ! Keep up the good work  !!!!! 

 

On April 14, 2016 at 11:23 AM, tankdude said:

As a former Abrams Tank Commander - I understand why 2 of them are down for maintenance!!!  Good thing they have 1 workhorse!

Hear what you guys are saying. Was in 1AD 2/37 and 3/34 AR. M60A1, M60A3, M1, M1IP, and M1A1. Was an XO, so I know it well 15 hours of maintenance for 1 hour of fun.  Also, Life Time Member 82nd Airborne Association. Went on the motto of "why walk when you can ride" and "why ride when you can fly".  Steele on Target.