Regular Training Leads to Highest Skills of SAF Tank Crewmen
Thursday, 6.2.2025 | Training
Modernization of weapons and equipment in the Serbian Armed Forces’ units goes hand in hand with constant training of their members at training grounds and exercise areas, which improves the combat readiness of the units and strengthens the defense system of our country. In addition to newly recruited soldiers, the already experienced professional members of the Serbian Armed Forces undergo intensive training in all seasons and all weather conditions.
In order to maintain high operational skills, provide the unit with interchangeable manpower and improve its combat readiness, members of the 36th Tank Battalion of the 3rd Army Brigade are currently training with M-84 tanks at the Niš Barracks “Mija Stanimirović” and Military Training Ground “Rujnik”.
The platoon commander in the tank company of the 36th Tank Battalion, Captain Uroš Martić, has explained that the M-84 tank has three crew members: commander, driver and gunner, and that the skills and coordination, which are acquired through collective and individual training, are essential for the tank to be effective on the battlefield.
— A single tank unit can bring superiority on the battlefield in modern warfare. The most important thing that a tank operator should know is his role in the tank as a crew member, and then, in addition to that, he should also know the general things other crew members are concerned with, because all three of them should function as a whole and complement each other in their professional knowledge and the actions they perform — emphasized Captain Martić and invited young people looking for adrenaline, action and dynamic work to join them and become colleagues in the 36th Tank Battalion.
Gunner Vojislav Nikolić, Private 1st Class, says that he likes his job and that his new acquaintances are always surprised when he says that he is a tank crewman and, when they meet, they have all sorts of questions about what he specifically does in an armored vehicle, if it is very noisy inside, what it feels like to be in a tank.
— My answer is that unless they experience it, enter the tank and try it themselves, they cannot imagine the feeling, which is so powerful. The best thing about us in the 36th Tank Battalion is that we all get along well, because we all have to work together to make the tank work. The tank driver must be agile, have a certain speed, it is preferable that he is a little smaller, but even if he is bigger, it is not a problem and he should not be afraid to be in a confined space - clarified Pte Nikolić, adding that it was an honor to serve the motherland and that was why, like his ancestors, he had decided to do military service before joining the 3rd Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Lance Corporal Igor Cvetković has been driving a tank for 15 years and he says that the longest time he stayed in that combat vehicle continuously was around 10, 11 hours.
— The feeling of being inside the tank is incredible, and the safety is great because it’s an armored vehicle, a strong machine. Although it weighs 41.5 tons, the tank moves at 80 kilometers per hour. It is noisy, and in order to communicate with the commander and gunner, we use headsets that work as a throat microphone and transmit the sound through the vibration of the vocal cords. Communication between the crew members is very important, we cannot function if we do not hear each other, because we are physically separated – said Lance Corporal Cvetković, revealing some of the details of the work of the tank crew.
M-84 tanks are the basic combat equipment of tank battalions in the army brigades. They are intended for fast, bold, sudden and powerful combat actions, primarily in offensive combat missions, but also during anti-tank warfare, which ensures they have a vital role and importance in the first and second missions of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Young men and women willing to become tank crewmen of the Serbian Armed Forces can apply to the competition for joining the tank, artillery and mechanized units of the Serbian Armed Forces, which is open until February 15. This will afford an opportunity for them to work with the most powerful and useful combat systems of the Army, to get secure employment, retirement benefits, high-standard military health insurance for themselves and their family members, and the possibility of continuous training and advancement in the service. Citizens of the Republic of Serbia under the age of 30 are eligible to apply to the competition, regardless of whether they have performed military service or not.
