 This is Captain Joseph Di Pietro with First Marine Division. I was blessed and it was a great honor to serve the Marines and sailors of First Tank Battalion. As First Tank Battalion devactivates, May 21st, an era of Marine Corps armor comes to an end. I look to the future and want to highlight the traits and skills of the tank community as we integrate into various MOSs across the service. Hundreds of tankers, tank mechanics and tank officers will be checking into new units and new schools this year. We will be trained to do new jobs and to lead new formations of Marines, but the tanker in us will never disappear. So what is it you get from a Marine tanker? Tankers are workhorses. These Marines stay up all night to fix an engine or fire control system. They work in 120 degree heat, changing track sections that weigh hundreds of pounds and they have fun doing it. They work for days and weeks out in the field, only to return to the line for weeks and months of maintenance. They sweep sand and dirt off a maintenance pad while covered in hydraulic fluid and engine oil. These Marines would move a mountain if it helped an infantry unit close with and destroy the enemy, and that mentality remains. Tankers are versatile. Marine armor crew members are so much more than just tankers. These Marines plan resupplies, troubleshoot radios and coordinate fire support. They de-conflict direct and indirect fire, operate sustainment systems and excel in intelligence analysis. Operations happen fast on a tank, so these Marines are able to shoot, move and communicate at a fast pace while continuously looking ahead to avoid culmination. In a world and on a battlefield where information flows rapidly, tankers have the background to succeed in a constantly changing environment. Tankers are ready to fight. The last Marine tank combat was over 7 years ago, but make no mistake, tankers were and are ready to win battles at a moment's notice. These Marines were constantly cycled through crew, section, platoon, company, battalion and service level training exercises. Always working, always training, always learning and always preparing to suppress defensive battle positions, destroy enemy vehicles and defeat the enemy. The willingness of these Marines to continue service in new occupational fields after years of painstaking exercises with little reward is noteworthy and remarkable. They are ready and itching to support MacTaff operations and will do everything possible to allow our infantry into a trench or building. To my Army counterparts, many of you will soon work alongside crew members that are well versed in combined arms and maneuver. Our Lance Corporals observe and adjust indirect fire and our non-commissioned officers coordinate combined arms breaches flawlessly. The many master gunners the Army receives instantly increase lethality and proficiency across the force. Those soldiers and those tanks will be counted on when it comes time to support urban maneuver in a littoral zone, so be ready. When Army tanks join Marine formations in battle, we will be ready to assist the coordination. Until then, we will work tirelessly to assimilate into our new communities and lead Marines in the many ways we know how. While the main battle tank may be gone, the mentality of the Marine tanker lives on.