Army Tank Driver Now Drives Toward Degree

Montgomery's tank helmet, medals and official photograph

In the U.S. Army a mild-mannered junior SC State communications major drove the biggest, baddest beast on the battlefield, the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

Back then Trenton Montgomery, 26, was called Gummy by his tank crewmates and colleagues, a play on his last name.

Montgomery enlisted at age 19 a year after graduating from  Berkeley High School. He didn't initially apply for tank school, but tank

Montgomery drove the mighty Abrams tank 

school found him and soon he was in training behind the wheel of the 60-ton behemoth that can reach 45 mph and fires weaponry that includes a 120 mm cannon.


For Montgomery it wasn't just a job, it was a job he enjoyed.

"Driving the tank was the most fun of anything I did in my career," he said during a recent talk to students in my Feature Writing class.  "It was the thrill of driving, the way the tank sounds when it starts up is the most amazing sound."

He pointed out some features of the Abrams tank 

Montgomery's nearly three and a half years in the U.S. Army took him across the country to postings that included Fort Benning, Ga. and Fort Carson, Colo.  He was once deployed overseas, to Qatar in the Middle East.  The duty there involved protecting American military personnel and equipment.

He never had to face combat and has no regrets about that either way.  "To be honest, I wouldn't say I was eager for that," he said. "At the time, whatever the mission was, go over and do it. If it came down to that I would have prepared myself to think it was either me or the enemy. But thankfully we all came home safe."

Montgomery's three-year commitment ended in 2017 and soon after he was enrolled at SC State. His college is paid for thanks to his military service and the Post-911/GI Bill.  His ideal job after school would be in sports broadcasting "but being in the military I have other avenues" if need be, he said.  

His takeaways from being in the military?  "Life skills and career skills," Montgomery said. "I learned a lot of new skills that will help with careers in the civilian world. I have become more confident in my abilities. I've really grown into manhood and have been able to travel the world." 

These days Montgomery can be seen behind the wheel for his part-time job in Columbia. He's not driving tanks anymore, but a regular car making deliveries to earn some extra money. 

To learn more about Trenton Montgomery see his LinkedIn site and his blog, which is appropriately titled "Tenacious Trenton."