Thanks for the post. In 1983-5 my unit 3-12 Cav had M-60A3 Rise/Passive's and the M-1s were being fielded to the border Cav (2nd & 11th ACRs) first. In the mid-70s I was in an M-60A2 awaiting the hordes of Soviet T-62s and East German T-55s. and the T-64 was just being fielded.
Ah yes, I remember the days when the Rooskies were 10 feet tall and coming to get us tomorrow.
Trained as a DAT but got put in the Scout platoon (You can drive a track? Good, now you're a 19D!). I was in the 3/33 AR, 1st Bde, 3rd AD and we went through a similiar upgrade process from '80-'82.
From A2s that had to be dragged to the range and fired by all NCO/officer crews (one company had 15 of 17 A2s deadlined) the BN went to A1s and then A3s the next year and by '84 or '85 (after I left) had been reflagged as a Cav sqdn and issued M1s.
Then they won the Canadian Army Tank Gunnery competition!
Thank God for Reagan. I saw the Army go from ragbag troopers going through the motions of training, maintaining and soldiering in those years to a serious fighting force.