I found out after my husband returned from Iraq that he did fight outside of his tank at times, and sometimes they have to drive or ride in Humvees. These situations are only in extreme cases-for the most part, they stay inside their tanks. Feel free to contact me with any other questions you may have. My husband was a tanker for 6 years and served as an NCO with 3rd ID Mechanized. He was deployed to Iraq twice-one was 9 months, the second was for 13 months. I was also our unit's Family Readiness Group point of contact and may be able to help you with any other questions.