Defense
- At the end of August, Marine tankers gathered at Camp Pendleton for this year's TIGERCOMP.
- Excluding a six-year lull in the 2000s, TIGERCOMP has been the Marine Corps tank gunnery competition since 1996.
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CAMP PENDLETON, California - The hot California sun beamed, drawing beads of sweat, but the US Marines, Vietnam veterans and members of the local community were heedless. Hands holding phones, binoculars and video cameras hovered as they anxiously waited for another ground shaking explosion.
A murmur erupted from the sweat-slicked crowd perched on top of the Range 409A observation point as 4th Tank Battalion's M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank fired another dead-center hit during TIGERCOMP August 29 aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
According to Lt. Col. Matthew Zummo, the commanding officer of 1st Tank Battalion, TIGERCOMP has been the Marine Corps tank gunnery competition since 1996. The three Marine Tank Battalions compete to determine the Corps' most lethal tank crew. Following a six-year break from 2003-2009, the competition was reignited in 2010.
"First Tanks is hosting this year's competition," said Zummo. "We selected Range 409A as the venue to enable a better spectator experience compared to the usual Range 500 at 29 Palms. The winning crew will have the opportunity to compete in the Sullivan Cup, which is the Army's total force tank gunnery competition."