On Friday, November 10, 2023, the Distinguished Visitors Day (DV – Day) of the Hellenic Tank Challenge of Armored Units of the 4th Army Corps “THRACE” was held at the Battle Tank Shooting Range in Petrochori, Xanthi. The day was held with the participation of LEO2 main battle tanks (A4 and HEL), the Tank platoon of the 1-6 Infantry Regiment of the Command of US Forces Europe – Africa (USAREUR – AF), and M1A2 ABRAMS battle tanks.

The platoons were evaluated in operational procedures with measurable objective criteria which, among other things, focused on small-scale tactics, technical execution of shots as well as technical issues of tanks.

According to an announcement by the Hellenic Army General Staff, the final ranking of the platoons was based on the time each crew took to complete the tests, alongside the individual rating of their skills and especially their shots accuracy.

The Hellenic Tank Challenge, which started off as a national competition in 2018 and has been upgraded since 2020 with the participation of US crews, aims to highlight the high level of professionalism and operational readiness of the participants of the two countries.

The final phase of the competition was attended by the Commander of the 4th Army Corps “THRACE”, Lt. Gen. Demokritos Konstantakos, on behalf of the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Lt. Gen. Angelos Houdeloudis, COL Michael T. Tobias and COL Dwight D. Domengeaux of US Forces, COL Phelipe Le Duc of the French Forces, 19 observers from Armenia, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Jordan, Italy, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia, active-duty and retired Army Officers as well as Security Forces Officers.

Also read: GEEF | International Combat Patrol Exercise “CAMBRIAN PATROL – 2023” – Photos