This was a while back, but it got me quite a reputation in boot camp ... I was training to drive an M60-A3 tank at Fort Knox in Kentucky. The Drill Sergeants were the Tank Commanders, and we peon soldiers were the driver, gunner, and loader - it was my turn to drive. Driving a 50-ton hunk of metal is a rush, to say the least.

So, I'm told to back up, and hold one of the treads, which essentially makes a slow backwards turn. I'm merrily going about my drinving business, swinging the t-bar to turn and giving the beast some gas when another drill runs in front of my field of vision, arms waving frantically. I stopped immediately, and was told to shut down.

When I emerged from the turret, I saw that the back of the tank was about a foot and a half from the Captain's jeep - the TC saw him and was yelling for me to stop - but he never keyed his mike, so all I heard in my crewman's helmet was the glorious hum of the engine. Another second, the jeep would have been toast, and from the look of the visibly shaken captain, he might have been, too.

This may not have been my most embarrassing moment, but it is one I actually look back on fondly.