--- title: "We salute the soldiers who named their tank ‘Executioners Finest’" description: "Soldiers love to stencil on clever names onto their tanks after qualifying with them. The names are often boastful or sardonic." date: "2025-12-06" modified: "2025-12-06" authors: - name: "Nicholas Slayton" job_title: "Contributing Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/nicholas-slayton.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/army-abrams-tank-name-executioners-finest/" categories: - "Army" - "Military Branches" - "News" - "Tanks" - "Tech & Tactics" - "Vehicles" --- # We salute the soldiers who named their tank ‘Executioners Finest’ ![A U.S. Army Soldier assigned to 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, drives to a firing lane to zero an M1A2 Abrams Tank at Dona Ana Range Complex, New Mexico, Nov. 17, 2025. The event was part of the Iron Heroes Competition, designed to identify the best individuals and teams in the 1st Armored Division to compete at higher Army echelon competitions. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jerron Bruce)]() *The M1A2 Abrams tank "Executioners Finest" in action in New Mexico in November 2025. Army photo by Sgt. Jerron Bruce.* We at Task & Purpose care deeply about issues affecting active-duty military and veterans. We also love a good tank name. “[ASVAB Waiver](),” “[Divine Intervention](),” and “Bye Felicia” are just a few that light up our day. And now we can add “Executioners Finest” to the list. The M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank is assigned to the 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division. It was recently photographed taking part in the 1st Armored Division’s Iron Heroes Competition at the Dona Ana Range complex in New Mexico last month. The Army photo by Sgt. Jerron Bruce managed to capture the tank’s barrel, with a clear view of the stenciled tank name. The military recently posted some images of it and other tanks to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, or DVIDS, its public media platform. The Iron Heroes Competition pits different teams from the division against each other to see who is the best, in categories such as Best Tank, Best Maintenance Team and — perhaps a sign of how rapidly uncrewed systems are becoming an important part of the Army — Best Drone Pilot. For the tanks competing it involved maneuvers and live fire qualifications, both during the day and night. One [video]() released by the 1st Armored Division had a tank moving through pitch black desert, the only light coming from the flash of its main weapon. The competition wrapped last month, with a team from 6th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team winning Best Tank. It’s not immediately clear which tank they were operating. Task & Purpose reached out to 1st Armored Division to see how the crew of “Executioners Finest” did but hasn’t heard back. Typically tanks are [named]() using a specific formula — they often start with matching the first letter to the specific company. So another classic tank name, “Come and Take It,” was likely from C company, for instance. According to several tankers Task & Purpose has spoken with in the past, crews also need to be qualified before they can start officially naming their armor. These tank names also often need to get approval from higher up the chain of command before any paint can be applied to the tank's barrel. The Army has become stricter over the years with what it allows, so vulgarity tends not to make the cut. Instead, tankers often go towards the sardonic or pithy names — “ASVAB waiver” is a prime example — or towards the more boastful and militant. It’s not clear how the tank got the name “Executioners Finest,” but it definitely is in the latter category. ## Author Nicholas Slayton is a contributing editor for Task & Purpose, covering conflict for over 12 years, from the Arab Spring to the war in Ukraine. His previous reporting can be found on the non-profit Aslan Media, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, The New Republic, The American Prospect, Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, and the Los Angeles Downtown News. You can reach him at nicholas@taskandpurpose.com or find him on Twitter @NSlayton and Bluesky at @nslayton.bsky.social. ### Author social links [Twitter]()