---
title: "Soldiers Named a US Army Tank “Crippling Depression”"
description: "A U.S. Army tank crew named their tank \"Crippling Depression,\" illustrating the creative freedom crews are granted when it comes to their vehicles."
date: "2020-04-29"
modified: "2020-04-29"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/soldiers-named-us-army-tank-crippling-depression"
categories:
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "military technology"
  - "tank"
  - "the digest"
---

# Soldiers Named a US Army Tank “Crippling Depression”

![A U.S. Army tank crew named their tank "Crippling Depression," illustrating the creative freedom crews are granted when it comes to their vehicles.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/soldiers-named-us-army-tank-crippling-depression-1.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: @TheWTFNation / Instagram\</em\>*

## Big Mood

Members of the U.S. Army are once again showing their more creative side when it comes to naming [their vehicles and artillery](<https://futurism.com/military-mounting-laser-weapons-tanks>).

One tank crew, for instance, recently [named its tank](<https://twitter.com/TheWTFNation/status/1255181494894637056/photo/1>) after one of the most terrifying killers of all, *[Task & Purpose ](<https://taskandpurpose.com/mandatory-fun/army-tank-named-crippling-depression>)*[reports](<https://taskandpurpose.com/mandatory-fun/army-tank-named-crippling-depression>) *—* dubbing it "Crippling Depression."

https://twitter.com/TheWTFNation/status/1255181494894637056?

## Creative License

Individual tank crews actually have a fair amount of leeway when to comes to picking the name that will be stenciled down the barrel of their tank's gun.

As long as it isn't *too* profane and it begins with the same letter as the crew's company or squadron, *[Business Insider ](<https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-actual-process-us-troops-use-to-name-their-tanks-2019-3#with-some-exception-you-name-it-entirely-for-the-purpose-of-easily-identifying-it-when-youre-walking-through-the-motor-pool-reading-the-name-stenciled-on-the-gun-or-rocket-pod-is-going-to-be-a-lot-easier-to-read-from-a-distance-than-its-serial-number-5>)*[reports](<https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-actual-process-us-troops-use-to-name-their-tanks-2019-3#with-some-exception-you-name-it-entirely-for-the-purpose-of-easily-identifying-it-when-youre-walking-through-the-motor-pool-reading-the-name-stenciled-on-the-gun-or-rocket-pod-is-going-to-be-a-lot-easier-to-read-from-a-distance-than-its-serial-number-5>) that most names will pass. That leads to tanks being given some some [less savory joke names](<https://taskandpurpose.com/mandatory-fun/army-tank-crew-name>). But a great deal are also named after celebrities like Dwayne Johnson and Betty White, or [tacticool](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tacticool>) names like "Boomstick."

**READ MORE:** [We salute the Army crew who named their tank 'crippling depression'](<https://taskandpurpose.com/mandatory-fun/army-tank-named-crippling-depression>) \[*Task & Purpose*\]

**More on military technology:** *[The Coolest (and Scariest) Military Tech of 2019](<https://futurism.com/coolest-scariest-military-technology-2019>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)