Collection Gift Guide: You Can't Touch This

Christian Gulliksen

12/01/2004

TACTICAL TANKS
Founded in 2000 by David Estes as an adventure playground, Tactical Tanks occupies a 265-acre site adjacent to a former Air Force base north of Dallas. It has since become a favorite destination for corporate team building–particularly for those tired of rope courses and “trust falls”–but any group of 12 can pay the $12,000 fee and enjoy the vast fleet of military hardware. Tactical Tanks boasts 20 armored tanks (three are British Main Battle Tanks), several armored personnel carriers, self-propelled guns, Hummers, military Jeeps, a GPS navigation system, mine sweepers, sophisticated communications helmets, and laser targeting devices. (In the interest of safety, all weaponry is disabled.) Participants engage in war game situations; for example, one team recently received this missive: “Sat recon shows U.S. pilot down in vicinity of N33.41.598 W96.38.315. Enemy has mobilized to intercept and has jammed GPS. Be advised: Six-second error in search parameters. Evac pilot ASAP.” It isn’t often that the general public has the opportunity to ride around in a tank, let alone navigate dirt roads in one as if a pilot’s life depended on it. If you and the guys–or girls–are bored with the usual getaways, Tactical Tanks could prove a highly entertaining alternative.

Tactical Tanks
866.711.2129