Photos from the Army's 'Iron Brigade' show how much power the M1 Abrams tank is packing

US Army photo by 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

A tank crew with 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, departs the rail head at Fagaras, Romania, June 30, 2017.

Members of the US Army's 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team from the 4th Infantry Division deployed to Europe in January in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.

As their time in Europe draws to a close, "Iron Brigade" members took part in the Combine Resolve IX live-fire exercise at Grafenwoehr training area in southeast Germany from August 19 to 24.

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The drill saw tanks and mechanized infantry work with artillery, combat engineers, close-air support, and unmanned aerial reconnaissance in a mock defensive engagement, focusing on maneuvering with speed against a conventional opponent.

Combined Resolve IX is "a culminating event for our readiness progression as well as the deployment," Army Maj. Michael Harrison, operations officer for the brigade, said this week. "This strengthens our readiness and ability to fight as a brigade."

The exercise was the sixth brigade-level combined-arms live-fire drill the Iron Brigade has done in the past 13 months - four of them have taken place during the unit's nine-month Atlantic Resolve rotation, which started when they arrived in Europe in January.

"We are very well trained," Harrison said. "When we go back to Fort Carson, Colorado, our level of readiness will be extremely high, especially when we transition back to our own training area."