278th ACR tank crew proves best of the best winning Sullivan Cup

In a competition designed to test the mettle of the best armor crews amongst the United States military and its allies, it was the Nation Guard team from Tennessee’s 278th Armored Calvary Regiment that brought home the heavy metal from Armor Week.

Four soldiers from Ashland City’s Troop B, 1st Squadron, 278th ACR, won first place during the Sullivan Cup competition on Saturday at Fort Moore, Georgia, following a week long competition.

“This is an amazing honor, and these soldiers should be proud of all they have accomplished,” said Maj. Gen. Warner Ross, Tennessee’s Adjutant General. “They competed against the best crews in the world and showed everyone Tennessee’s warrior spirit and what it means to be from the Volunteer state.”

Held every two years, and hosted by the U.S. Army Maneuver Center, the Sullivan Cup puts the best M1 Abrams tank and Bradley crews from across the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and its foreign allies in a head-to-head competition to test a crew’s maneuver, sustainment, and gunnery skills. Each team is put through a series of challenges designed to determine the world’s best crew in the armor branch. This year, the 1st Cavalry Division won for best Bradley crew and the Tennessee National Guard won best tank crew.

This year’s Sullivan Cup included 62 competitors, comprising 58 men and four women, making up three-person Bradley crews and four-person tank crews. International competitors were from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. U.S. teams who competed were from the 1st Armored Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Infantry Division, 3rd Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, and Tennessee’s 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

“If I ever wanted to win anything in my life, this is it right here,” said Staff Sgt. David Riddick, tank commander for the 278th crew. “It means everything to bring this trophy back to Tennessee as we showcased our combat skills and mettle.”

Riddick, along with his crewmembers, Sgt. Joshua Owen, Spc. Noah Eddings, and Spc. Seth Carter, competed in a series of rigorous challenges that tested their gunnery precision, tactical acumen, and cohesion. Through a combination of live-fire exercises, simulated combat scenarios, and tactical drills, they were tested in a variety of scenarios that replicated real-world battlefield conditions.

“The pressure was real,” said Riddick. “We knew we were competing against the best, so we had to give it everything we had because everybody else was too.”

By the end of the multi-day competition, the 278th crew defeated 10 other teams, six from active-duty Army units and four from allied nations.

“Winning was evidence of our team’s hard work and resilience,” said Riddick. “The competition challenged us to dig deep down in ourselves while trusting our teammates to be their best. And they excelled at it.”