"The Chieftain on Kelly's Heroes..." Topic

"Every tanker I know wants to be Oddball… including me!"

The Chieftain (Nicholas Moran) discusses tanks on film:

YouTube link

Subjects include Fury, Kelly's Heroes, James Bond and modern tank warfare.

Barry

Anyone interested in tanks, that does not know Nick, should. HE is that rare combination of knowing thgins professionally, and historically, and unlike a lot of serving officers does not seem to let his own experience influence his historical work. Plus, it is funny to watch his tall body trying to bail out of various tanks.

Seen many of his videos, always good
Thanks

Yeah he is one of those guy when they say never meet your heroes, met him at an event and was trying to say hi and that I enjoyed his work but was totally blown off. Have not watched his videos since

@bandit86:
Everyone has a bad day, including you, me and him. There may have been a reason.

Barry

Meeting people at events always can be difficult. So much craziness going on. Having an event planner in our family opened my eyes to just how crazy things usually get. If the meeting is one of those "drive-by meetings" in a hallway, I always say a quick "Hey (insert name)" with a quick hand wave and leave it at that, much to the guest's relief!

Thanks OP. Subscribed to his channel. Always nice to have a new quality channel to watch.

Nicholas was a guest at Armourfest last year and was kept busy during the daytime events. He attended the social evening afterwards and seemed very approachable and friendly. This was just my experience, yours may differ.

Nick brings a great deal of real-world experience to his work as a military historian.

He is an officer in the US Army National Guard (a form of reserves, for those unfamiliar with the force structure in the US). He was deployed as a tank platoon commander in Iraq, and as an armored cavalry battalion staff officer to Afghanistan, where he also served as liaison officer to neighboring allied units (due to his French language skills).

Yet you won't see him claiming that his military experience somehow makes him "right" when he reaches some historical conclusion. Rather, it is the research that drives his confidence in his conclusions. His military experience provides him with perspective, a sort of lens that allows better clarity and focus for his research. He does a great deal of research -- in various national archives as well as by close personal inspection of vehicles in various museums around the world.

He has a great respect for primary sources. He does not just repeat other people's conclusions. He goes to the source to see what the facts are / were before coming to his own conclusions. This is his greatest strength -- he is not just a YouTube content generator, he is a bona fide historian.

He can be a bit blunt at times. This is a trait I have observed in many combat veterans. When they are "on duty" they prioritize what they will pay attention to, and their communications can be short and to-the-point. I believe it comes from working in an environment where distraction, miscommunication or hesitation can lead to people dying. But if you go to any of the meet-ups he regularly organizes, you will find him to be a very sociable fellow.

And he likes wargaming with miniatures.

I mean, he plays with tanks in 1:1 scale AND 1:285 scale. Good guy to have in your gaming circle…

-Mark
(aka: Mk 1)

Vets certainly CAN be 'Blunt'. Know ex UK RN Diver… invalided out after 'pub incident'. Gives/Takes NO S**t! But THINKS before speaks. Good Bloke… had VERY dodgy time… but OK now.
Was down village a while back, in company. Got friendly chatting with bloke who was a 'bit proud' of Diving experience. Fine. THEN, mate told just a bit about HIS experiences… UXBs, Mines. Not 'blowing off'. Bloke went quiet and respectful!