# How do vehicles in the millitary start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947 "2016-02-02T14:09:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/21 "2016-02-02T20:47:21Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > This is NOT what Call of Duty has taught me. My experience with armored vehicles is that you either hold down the A button or press up on the left joystick to get it moving. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/22 "2016-02-02T21:46:25Z")
The wartime Jeep had a turn-the-switch-and-stamp-on-the-floor-starter-button arrangement. The first ones had keys, but people kept losing them. ---
**Author:** ![bomberswarm2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@bomberswarm2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bomberswarm2)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/23 "2016-02-03T01:15:39Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > They actually have a key ignition. And when you drop that key in the middle of the desert in Afghanistan? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/24 "2016-02-03T02:03:35Z")
In Saigon, the MPs would remove the distributor caps from their jeeps when they parked them. I assume that was standard for other typed of vehicles. When I was in the CG, all the vehicles were standard civilian vehicles with key ignitions. ---
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/25 "2016-02-03T03:52:01Z")
When I was a kid down here in SoCal, an unemployed army vet managed to sneak into a poorly-secured motor pool and steal a tank - push-button ignition. [Article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Nelson_(plumber)) and [video.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msPrOIAVUZo) ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/26 "2016-02-03T16:56:18Z")
Now I can’t get the image out of my head of a column of tanks halting their advance and everyone gets out, turns around, and presses their key fobs and the entire column of tanks _chirps_ cheerfully. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/27 "2016-02-03T18:33:16Z")
Yeah, but once the alarms are set and somebody walks too close to one and it barks “Step away from the vehicle”, you know it has the bite to back up its bark. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RememberMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@RememberMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RememberMe)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/28 "2016-02-04T00:04:40Z")
Omg, no good responses this far in? For the record, no modern US Army tactical vehicle will use a key to START. All vehicles have some way to be secured, whether it be a cable and lock or a lock on a hatch, and yes, if the keys were not available then you were either waiting for the keys to show up or you would cut the lock. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/29 "2016-02-04T00:13:25Z")
> [@RememberMe](#): > > Omg, no good responses this far in? For the record, no modern US Army tactical vehicle will use a key to START. All vehicles have some way to be secured, whether it be a cable and lock or a lock on a hatch, and yes, if the keys were not available then you were either waiting for the keys to show up or you would cut the lock. What kind of response would qualify as a “good” response? ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/30 "2016-02-04T01:35:06Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > What happens if the guy with the key gets lost or captured? Do they issue keys to everyone in the unit who is qualified to drive the vehicle so that they can take over, or do keys only go to those who are actually expected to drive? E.g. how often do qualified drivers end up not being able to drive due to lack of keys? “Well, Cpl. Jones is certified to drive the tank too, but unless Sgt. Smith makes it back with the keys, we’re out of luck.” The tactical vehicles don’t have ignition keys part has been brought up. In tactical situations, you’re generally not locking up of vehicles which helps. As a mounted guy we didn’t just park and leave our home, storage, primary weapon in times when we might be expected to have to use them relatively quickly. The vehicle is also where the bulk of our communications were (attached to bigger power supplies and antennae so also the longer range FM systems as compared to typical manpacks). Maintaining radio watch sort of necessitated keeping someone in their vicinity constantly. That doesn’t mean keys don’t still get lost. It just means most of the losses were outside of the time when tactical concerns you bring up mattered. The maintenance section usually kept a backup but sometimes those aren’t readily accessible or got lost too. That’s when you cut the lock. All my Company Maintenance Teams (along with company supply) had lock cutters. In addition there were a lot of tools in a mechanized unit that would put paid to a lock even if not as quickly and efficiently. Those methods were the ones usually applied 😃 since it was quicker to brute force with the wrong tool than get your hands on the right tool. On an M60A3 there was a trick with a helmet or hammer that could get you in specific hatch (“combat locked” with a handle/latch from the inside) on many tanks. It didn’t get the loader’s hatch, secured with a padlock, open but you could operate the tank normally otherwise. On the M1 there was no such trick to get inside. Generally for both, you didn’t lose all your keys for the platoon’s vehicles so you still had ready access to apply the three rules of tank maintenance to any lock needed. (Hit it with a hammer, hit it with a BIGGER hammer, use any other tool…as a hammer.) IME the axe was the best “hammer” to use on locks. Horrible for the cutting edge though. The wheeled tactical vehicle cable/lock system was harder since there was no convenient anvil behind it. I know of at least one case where a chunk got taken out of the relatively simple plastic steering wheel on a HMMWV. That was a bigger deal (the part was more expensive than a new lock set.) Ultimately when you’re dealing with something like a tank crew, that deals with minor fender damage using 20 pound sledge hammers and pry bars, a lock… is at best a delay. Vehicles got dispatched to specific individuals as drivers. They had to be licensed to drive it but a license alone was not enough. There was some capacity to swap qualified drivers and just annotate it on the dispatch itself. For a bigger shift you got it redispatched through maintenance. The admin procedure could cause conflict with tactical necessity but the leadership was ultimately responsible for managing it along with managing drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/31 "2016-02-04T12:56:40Z")
Not once have I ever seen a military vehicle that used an actual key to start. Every vehicle I have ever driven (HUMVEE, MRAPs, LMTVs) has an ignition switch. I’m not sure what military Monty was in, but it’s not the modern US Army. What keys ARE used for is securing the vehicle when it’s not in use. They padlock the doors and sometimes the steering wheel to prevent an unauthorized user from pilfering it. Key control is a huge pain in the ass, for all the reasons you’d think. Theft is also not uncommon - If one soldier loses a piece of equipment he might decide it’s easier to steal from another unit than admit to losing his own gear, so securing the vehicles is important. And soldiers are NOT all trained on every conceivable vehicle. They get trained and licensed on individual vehicles that they need to use. This isn’t GI Joe, and there’s no reason to expect some random infantryman would jump in a tank or fighter jet or something. ---
**Author:** ![XanderCrews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee59a6/32.png) [@XanderCrews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XanderCrews)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/32 "2016-02-04T14:21:57Z")
Abrams is push to start and that takes about 8 gallons of fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/33 "2016-02-04T15:17:45Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > US Army trucks, tanks, HMMWVs, and other tactical vehicles use a switch to start. The only key, as Loach mentions, would be to remove a cable and padlock wrapped around the steering wheel. Here is a picture of the ignition switch for a Humvee: > > [http://data3.primeportal.net/hummers/epifanio\_becerra/m1151/images/m1151\_49\_of\_83.jpg](http://data3.primeportal.net/hummers/epifanio_becerra/m1151/images/m1151_49_of_83.jpg) Thanks that was the picture I was going to post but I got distracted. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/34 "2016-02-05T00:44:17Z")
> [@XanderCrews](#): > > Abrams is push to start and that takes about 8 gallons of fuel. I thought it had a pull cord, like a lawnmower. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947/35 "2016-02-05T02:51:33Z")
> [@sailboat](#): > > now i can’t get the image out of my head of a column of tanks halting their advance and everyone gets out, turns around, and presses their key fobs and the entire column of tanks _chirps_ cheerfully. > [@lslguy](#): > > yeah, but once the alarms are set and somebody walks too close to one and it barks “step away from the vehicle”, you know it has the bite to back up its bark. :d **“VIPER™ is armed”** 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-vehicles-in-the-millitary-start/744947.md?page=1)