February 7
Everyone remembers that first time they entered the driver’s seat of a car. Nerves. Power. Excitement. These are just a few feelings one possesses in those first moments behind the steering wheel. “What if I do something wrong?” one thinks. “How do I make this work correctly so that I have the best time while not endangering anyone else? This is a car I’m about to drive – I’ve been waiting for this moment for years.” But once you turn the key and feel the engine roar, all the thoughts and fears go out the window because it’s you, the car, and go-time. You have to trust your instincts and possess self-confidence and the rest will follow course (a good life-lesson for every situation). Well, I was able to relive this experience with a multiplication of a very high power when I entered my tank for the first time two weeks ago.
The lead-up to driving for the first time was very difficult in a different form that one would expect in the army. The first seven weeks were physically challenging. These weeks had us sitting in classrooms for over ten hours a day learning the material necessary to drive or even get close to the tanks and work on them. We learned about the build of the tank, the engine, the transmission, the communication system, and the list goes on. I remember sitting through my toughest classes in high school and college and feeling confused but had the advantage of time to study and enough help from teachers. Now, I was sitting in classes spoken in a language I still don’t have a full grasp of, the teachers speaking extra fast (they’re instructed to) and having about an hour each day to review my notes and our textbook. Talk about pressure-packed learning.
In the army, they say there is no time, so everything is processed in turbo-speed. Within two weeks, they deemed us ready to enter the tanks. I felt ready in the sense that I wouldn’t have to sit in difficult classes but would actually get to use what I (tried to) learn in a practical manner. But I certainly didn’t see the logic in being handed the controls to a 70-ton vehicle that costs millions of dollars. But that’s when it hit me – they (the commanders) have confidence in me, so I must do so as well in myself, and every little thing will be alright. Trust myself, and success will follow – it sounds cliché but it works.
The commanders chose me to drive first and my heart skipped a beat. “Me?” I asked. “Are you sure you mean me?” They were sure. I put on my tank jumpsuit, vest, gloves, entered inside, closed the top, put on the helmet with the communication, and just waited for directions from the commander in the tank with me. “Start it up,” he said. I flipped the switch up and felt the huge thunder of the engine. Everything was good so far. Next it was time to release the brakes, not an easier-said-than-done task (I almost have to partially stand up to do this to get enough weight/pressure on the brakes). Done. Now it was time to go for a little spin in my tank.
The commander said full gas and I hesitated at first due to the fact that it’s very difficult to see when going forwards and impossible when going backwards. However, in the tank, you have to trust what the commander says and just do it. In a real mission, a second of movement one way or the other can make all of the difference in the world between success or failure. I decided, “What the heck, let’s give it a shot.” Pedal to the metal and off we went. “Turn hard left. Hard right. Stop. Backwards quickly,” were some of the commands I received, all while having limited to no vision. Here was the trust and confidence factor playing a role again. It isn’t a myth and it really does work. And then I realized – I was having a lot of fun.
I finished the course with one ride under my belt and a perfect score to show for it. I was proud of myself but I wanted to do it again and keep getting better. I have now driven five times moving on to the advanced course and love it every time, as difficult as it gets or as frustrating as the lessons are/were. Or how annoying it is to check a tank before/after very ride with crawling underneath and hammering like there is no tomorrow. Three more weeks to go and I’ll have a tank license. I will have finished the second part of my training, received a new beret (a big deal in the army), and be ready for advanced training. For now, I’m enjoying the ride. Learning new life lessons like that of trust and confidence are showing me that, up until this moment, this has been the right decision because I’m learning so much for the future, too. Trust in yourself and it equals success to those around you. Try it – it works.
