How safe is the M1A1 abrams to be in as a second lieutenant?

Thank you for your time. Please read and answer these questions.

Please answer these questions to the best of your ability because I have worried parents and siblings who are concerned about me going to war, and I feel obligated to show them how safe Abrams are.

First: some info about me.

I want to join the army through west point or ROTC. I am undecided, I have the grades to get into either of them easily (3.8 gpa) with no criminal offenses, no children nor a spouse. I want my MOS to be armor.

Assuming I went to ROTC or West Point, as a second lieutenant, what type of combat would I see with the armor?
Would I be directly involved in combat or be planning and sending soldiers into combat?
What would my job be in the Abrams? Would I be the commander, the driver, gunner, the loader?

Some questions about the Abrams itself:
What is the job name of the man who guns the m240 on top of the tank?
How effective is its armor and what is the survival rate for crew inside?
How large of IEDs can the armor withstand?
What kind of missions do tanks do?
What is the effective range of the cannon (I've heard its something like 2 miles)
How many servicemen have died for their country while using the Abrams?

I chose armor since I have been fascinated by tanks and the Army since childhood and serving our wonderful country.

Thank you for helping a young man with a strong desire to serve his country.

Hushyanoize

thank you in advance for your service.

Sham W

I don't think an Abrams has EVER been disabled by enemy fire.

Therefore, I'd conclude that being assigned to an Abrams tank crew would be a pretty safe assignment.

Neil

I recently just joined the army and choose Infantry as my MOS. I also wanted to be in a tank like the M1A1 Abrams. Lol I almost only wanted that job. Unfortunately that job did not come up as a option for me.

I believe that They Abram is VERY safe. My recruiter was a operator of one and said that a M1A1 Abram has never been destroyed by a enemy force. He said that when he was over in Iraq he ran over lots of IED's and was shot by RPG's nothing would happen to it (its a tank...). He said that the worst thing that happened to it was that he had to replace the tracks on it.

He also said that the tanks had Heat and AC. If you got hungry you just went to the back and got food. To me this seemed freaking great. He also said that 40% of the firepower that was going on was from the Tanks.(idk if that was true or not)

These tanks kick ***... I am going to be soooo jealous if you get to be driving one.

Ross

I'll try to help with your desire to serve your country as an officer. If you are considering West Point or any of the service academies, it is helpful to understand the admissions process. This answer details the labyrinthine multi tiered admission process:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AodQMYg9PwsBLze6O_LBAL3ty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090321112755AAca1Ts&show=7#profile-info-pPzS2GTDaa
If you are a junior and you are accepted for the summer seminar, that is usually a sign that a candidate is being considered for an LOA(letter of assurance) which takes him out of competition for an appointment from within his nominating sources. Now is the time to apply to your MOC(Members of Congress) for a nomination. In addition this is also the time to apply for an Army ROTC scholarship for the Class of 2014.
Good Luck!

Ok first of all, you don't get to decide which branch you will be assignned. The Army makes that decision.

As a new 2nd LT, your first assignment will be a tank platoon leader. That means you will be a tank commander.

As a tank commander, you have override capability over the main gun and the coaxial 7.62mm machine gun (M240). You also have a .50 cal M2 machine gun. The maximum effective range of the main gun is 3990 meters with full ballistic solution, 7990 meters with partial solution.

jimmy s

Armour is a great choice for an MOS. It is probably the safest Combat MOS job there is. However, you probably will not get to choose your branch, it will be assigned to you based on the needs of the Army.
As a Armour 2nd LT you would be in command of your own tank and also 3 others in your 4 tank platoon. You would command the other 3 by radio. the Abrams has 2 M240 machine guns. The loaders gun is on top of the turret and is ofcourse used by the loader. The coaxial machine gun is side-by-side the 130mm main gun, it is used by the gunner and can also be operated by the tank commander. The Abrams also has a large 50 cal machine gun operated by the tank commander (you).
I have not heard of any Abrams crewman being killed in combat, the things are almost indestructable. Biggest threat would be getting hit by a sniper while you are unbuttoned (hatches open and your head and shoulders sticking out of the tank)
Being a Tanker is a really cool job, driving is the best but as a 2nd Lt you will not get to drive much. As long as you are not clausterphobic and dont mind some hard work when it is time to do maintenance you will do well.

Chris

Assuming I went to ROTC or West Point, as a second lieutenant, what type of combat would I see with the armor?
some definitely, in the marines they take people with that job out of the tank and in with the infantry ..

What is the job name of the man who guns the m240 on top of the tank? thats an enlisted job, u as LT would be inside commanding a group of tanks.

Would I be directly involved in combat or be planning and sending soldiers into combat? if u want this go INTEL

some IEDs are very powerful, look on the internet. i wouldnt be suprised if a tank count not handle one of the powerful ones..

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