06.02.2025.

SAF tank crewmen - through regular training to consummate skill

Modernization of weapons and equipment in the Serbian Armed Forces units goes hand in hand with continuous personnel training at military training areas and exercise grounds, which improves the units’ combat readiness and strengthens the defence system of our country. In addition to newly recruited soldiers, experienced professional members of the Serbian Armed Forces undergo intensive training in all seasons and weather conditions.

To maintain a high level of operational skill, ensure staff interchangeability and improve the unit’s combat readiness, members of the 36th Tank Battalion of the 3rd Army Brigade are currently training on M-84 tanks in Mija Stanimirović Barracks in Niš and at the Rujnik Training Area.

The platoon commander in a 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 they develop in collective and individual training are essential for the tank’s effectiveness on the battlefield.

— A single tank unit can bring advantage on the battlefield in modern warfare. The most important thing a tanker should know is his role in a tank crew. In addition to that, he should be familiar with the basic roles of other crew members, because the three should function as a whole and complement each other with their professional knowledge and duties they perform — says Captain Martić and encourages young people who seek out an adrenaline rush, action and dynamic work to join them and become their co-workers in the 36th Tank Battalion.

Lance Corporal Vojislav Nikolić, a gunner, says that he likes his job and that his new acquaintances are always surprised to hear that he is a tank crewman. They ask him all sorts of questions about what exactly he does in an armoured vehicle, whether it is very noisy inside and what it feels like to be inside a tank.

— My answer is that until they experience it themselves, until they go inside a tank and try it out themselves, they cannot imagine how powerful the feeling is. The best thing about us in the 36th Tank Battalion is that we all get along well, because we all need to work together to get the tank to function. A tank crewman must be agile, quick, preferably shorter than average, but even if he is a bit taller, it is not a problem and he should not be afraid of confined spaces – explains Lance Corporal Nikolić, adding that it is his honour to serve the motherland and that this is the reason why he has decided, like his ancestors before him, to do military service, and then join the 3rd Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Corporal Igor Cvetković has been a tank driver for 15 years. He says that the longest time he has spent inside a tank was around 10, 11 hours.

— I feel amazing when I’m inside a tank, and it is very safe because it’s an armoured vehicle, a strong machine. Although it weighs 41.5 tons, tank moves at 80 kilometres per hour. It is noisy, and in order to be able to communicate with the commander and gunner, we use helmets with built-in headphones that work as a laryngophone, transmitting the sound via vibrations of vocal cords. Communication between crew members is very important, we cannot function if we do not hear each other, because we are physically separated – says Corporal Cvetković, revealing some of the detail about what tank crews do.

M-84 tanks are primary combat vehicles of tank battalions in army brigades. They are used for fast, bold, sudden and powerful combat action, primarily in offensive combat missions, but also in anti-tank warfare, which makes them vitally important for the first and second missions of the Serbian Armed Forces.

Young men and women who would like to become tank crewmen of the Serbian Armed Forces can apply to competitions for admission to tank, artillery and mechanized units of the Serbian Armed Forces until February 15. This way, they will get the chance to work with the Army’s most powerful and useful combat systems, get a secure job, early retirement benefits, excellent military health insurance for themselves and their family members, and opportunities for continuous professional development and career advancement. Citizens of the Republic of Serbia under the age of 30 can apply for the competition, regardless of whether they have performed military service or not.