Email   Print   Share By Daniel Cernero, Sentinel Staff

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The crew for 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div., carries a simulated casualty at the completion of the small arms competition portion of the Sullivan Cup May 7 at Fort Benning, Ga. By carrying the simulated casualty about 400 meters, they completed the event in about 36 seconds. Spc. Bailey Jester, 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

The crew for 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div., carries a simulated casualty at the completion of the small arms competition portion of the Sullivan Cup May 7 at Fort Benning, Ga. By carrying the simulated casualty about 400 meters, they completed the event in about 36 seconds. Spc. Bailey Jester, 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

Specialist Sam Garcia, loader for 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div., loads a round into the tank during the gunnery skills test portion of the Sullivan Cup May 7. The brigade took second place honors in the Sullivan Cup. Spc. Bailey Jester, 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

1st Cavalry Division’s 1st and 3rd Brigades placed in the top three of the first-ever Sullivan Cup, a four-day competition among 15 different units to determine the Army’s top tank crew, May 10 at Fort Benning, Ga.

“The inaugural Sullivan Cup competition was a great opportunity to re-instill Soldier and precision tank gunnery skills,” Col. Philip Battaglia, 1st Cav. Div. rear detachment commander, said. “The First Team crews

trained extensively in preparation for the competition, and I am proud of their accomplishments.  

“All crews learned a great deal training for and during the completion – skills that they will be able to share with their respective units,” he added. “I know that the 1st Cavalry Division teams will be much better prepared for next year’s competition from the experiences they

learned this year.”

Colonel Douglas Crissman, 3rd Bde.’s commander, shared similar praise for his unit.

“Their performance amongst their peers in this demanding competition illustrates their skill, determination and dedication to their profession,” he said.

A tank crew from Fort Bliss became the first to drink from the Sullivan Cup.

With a call sign of “Heavy Metal,” the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, team grabbed an early advantage on Day 1 with a dominant performance in the Maintenance Challenge and never let go, claiming victory May 10 at the inaugural battle on Harmony Church.

The unit fended off the First Team’s 1st and 3rd Brigades, who came in second and third, respectively.

Brigadier Gen. Thomas James, the Armor School commandant and chief of Armor, said organizers had three objectives in the Sullivan Cup: reinforce the importance of precision gunnery, emphasize the value of simulations when conducting gunnery and maneuver training, and reignite the Armor force’s customs and traditions.

“We had 15 of the best tank crews in the United States Army, and in my opinion, the entire world,” he said. “We are unique because we’re a small group. We know each other, we hang tough. We’re ready to get back on tanks and fire big bullets.”

The Fort Bliss crew established itself as a Cup threat May 7 during the Maintenance Challenge at Harmony Church’s motor pool, where it took apart an eight-block section of tank track and replaced it with a new chunk in less than 30 minutes.

“(They) just crushed the record,” James said. “None of that crew had to talk to each other. They just executed because they had done it before and knew what their responsibilities were. It was just a phenomenal effort.”

The week produced other memorable moments as well.

In the Army Physical Fitness Test that first morning, 1st Bde., 1st Cav. Div. won the Army Physical Fitness Test, led by Sgt. 1st Class Oscar Ayala, the crew’s tank commander. In the last two years, he’s had both hips replaced, but he still soared more than 300 on the APFT.

Retired Gen. Gordon Sullivan, the Cup’s namesake, watched parts of the competition and attended Thursday’s awards ceremony. He entered the service as an Armor officer in 1959 and retired in 1995 as the nation’s 32nd Army chief of staff. Sullivan is now president of the Association of the United States Army.

“I’m really honored to have my name on this, but it isn’t about me. It’s about you; it’s about the tank crews that are out there all over the world doing whatever they’re being asked to do,” he said. “You represent the power of the United States of America. … The United States Army is looking at the strength of its tank crews, along with the strength of the Infantry squad, along with the strength of the Army going forward. You are leading the way.

“I am enormously proud to be associated with each and every one of you. … Savor the moment. Moments like this are fleeting.”

(Editor’s note: Vince Little, The Bayonet, contributed to this article.)