What many don't realise is AFV drivers have stuff all visibility, you need to get the feel of where the vehicles extremities are in relation to where your body is but even then you are totally reliant on direction from the vehicle commander or a dismounted guide.
When I was an M-113 driver I enjoyed driving for senior Corporals or Sergeants, while some senior Lieutenants were ok too, recently qualified Troop Leaders were difficult because they were still coming to grips with how to command the troop as well as their vehicle but the worst were the newly qualified Lance Corporals who had been experienced drivers. The shiny new lance jacks know all about driving but not about commanding and often would stand in their turrets with a hand gripping each of the two lifting eyes on the turret top and instead of using the intercom to tell the driver to change direction, follow the lead vehicle, slow down, speed up, or stop, they would be unconsciously trying to steer the vehicle as if the lifting eyes were tillers, leaving the driver completely oblivious to their wishes.
I spent much of one particular exercise trying to anticipate the needs of such a crew commander back in the 90s, very hard when he had my intercom isolated from the troop net, if I had been able to hear what he was being ordered to do I may have had a chance. Instead I'd hear sweet FA, do my best guess then have him yelling over the intercom when I guessed wrong, even got taken aside by the troop corporal (my crewies best mate and until two weeks earlier his crew commander when he was driving) and dressed down for making his mate look bad, it may have been intimidating but for the fact he was a 60kg 169cm twerp. It got to the point that I had decided to pull this pin after the ex until the SSM took my crew commander aside and had a D&M with him, from then on he had me listening to the troop net, he would point out reference points, i.e. to the left of tree on crest 300m etc. maintain pace with leader, line abreast with leader etc. He was still far from the best but he was learning and getting better, funny though, when we f'd up it was my fault, when we got it down pat and performed well it was all him, that's life I suppose, at least the next ex I was the sergeants driver and credit was shared resulting in a good exercise eval.
